The notion of anchor species within biofilms has been known about for some time, though there is little published on this biology within biofilm communities. See the interviews I published in the experts forum; particularly with doctors’ Wolcott, Dowd and Loebel.

My observation with patients (going on seven years now) is that gram-negative bugs are particularly wily in their ways – both in planktonic and within biofilms. Case in point, see below.
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Lab Notes: ‘Good’ Bugs Not Always Benign

By MedPage Today Staff
Published: October 28, 2011

Healthy Bacteria Play Surprising Role in Gum Disease

Developing gum disease may require not only bad bacteria but also a benign background microbiota, researchers reported in Cell Host and Microbe.

When the gingivitis-associated Porphyromonas gingivalis was introduced at low levels into the mouths of normal mice, it triggered a substantial growth in the healthy bacteria already there, and the ensuing periodontal disease led to bone loss.

But no such thing happened when the gingivitis bacteria were introduced to mice with sterile mouths that harbored no normal bacteria.

It seems that a single species, even at low levels, can disrupt the stability of the bacterial ecosystem in the mouth, the researchers noted.

This may open up opportunities to fight periodontal disease by targeting the factor that gingivitis bacteria use to scramble signaling pathways of the protective leukocytes that keep the overall microbiota under control, they suggested.

— C.P.