Treponema denticola chymotrypsin-like proteinase (CTLP) integrates spirochaetes within oral microbial communities.

Treponema denticola is found ubiquitously in the human oral cavity and is mainly associated with bacterial communities implicated in the establishment and development of periodontal disease. The ability to become integrated within biofilm communities is crucial to the growth and survival of oral bacteria, and involves inter-bacterial coaggregation, metabolic cooperation, and synergy against host defences. In this article we show that the chymotrypsin-like proteinase (CTLP), found within a high-molecular-mass complex on the cell surface, mediates adherence of T.