Biochemical characterization of the strict anaerobic Gram-negative bacteria Tannerella forsythia by infrared micro-spectroscopy

Tannerella forsythia is a fastidious S-layer Gram-negative, strict anaerobic, and highly pleomorphic bacterium associated with periodontal inflammatory processes, bone loss, cardiovascular mortality, systemic sequelae, sepsis, and preterm birth. One of the purposes of this study was to characterize, for the first time, Tannerella forsythia (ATCC 43037) using Fourier transform infrared micro-spectroscopy. The analysis aimed to establish a suitable methodology for obtaining reproducible spectra for the characterization of this microorganism, as well as to assign the vibrational bands using techniques such Fourier self-deconvolution analysis (FSD) and second derivative spectral followed by Gaussian band fitting. The study was carried out in triplicate, yielding a total of 25 spectra per culture and 75 spectra across replicates. This methodology can be applied to the biochemical identification and characterization of Tannerella forsythia.