Colonization ofaPortion oftheBovine TonguebyUnusual Filamentous Bacteria

Tonguesamples fromcattle onvaried diets andranging inagefrom2months toadult werestudied bytransmission andscanning electron microscopy to observe theinsitu distribution andadhesion patterns oftworeadily identifiable genera offiamentous bacteria. Thetwo,bothmembersoftheSimonsiellaceae, adhere totheepithelium bymeansoffibers whichareproduced ononesideof thebacterial filaments andsubsequently display asidedness intheir mannerof adhesion toepithelial surfaces. Otherbacterial populations foundonthetongue werenormally membersofchains andseldom present assingle cells. Thissuggests thatfilamentous orchain-forming bacteria mayhaveaselective advantage over single bacteria intheir ability tocolonize andremain attached totheepithelium ofthetongue.