Toothbrush
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Description of Niche
Where located?
Toothbrushes are most commonly found in a bathroom, near the sink. According to researchers at the University of Arizona, the bathroom sink is the third germiest location in the house. The study also shows the bathroom floor, bathroom counter, and toilet seat stealing spots in the top 10 for the germiest places in the house. Many objects in the bathroom, like a toothbrush, are thus vulnerable to bacteria as well.
Toothbrush as a niche
What are the conditions in your niche? Temperature, pressure, pH, moisture, etc.
A new toothbrush itself is not typically inhabited by bacteria and fungi, but in some cases, toothbrushes are already slightly infected because it is not regulation that toothbrushes be sold in a sterile package [Glass RT, Lare MM]. Usually, the presence of microbes on the toothbrush is due to the act of brushing one’s teeth. Toothbrushing introduces the toothbrush into the mouth, which is a niche hospitable to many kinds of microbes. Therefore, the bacteria will transfer from the inside of the mouth to the toothbrush. In this way, the toothbrush is considered a niche for many microbes.
A toothbrush does not contain nutrients [EXCEPT FOR SOME FOOD RESIDUE?], so bacteria do not multiply. Bacteria in mouths can transfer to toothbrushes, so active brushing will cause bacteria to always be present on the toothbrush. Since most people brush at least twice a day, the bacteria population will never die, but rather be replenished each time the toothbrush comes in contact with the mouth again. In fact, right after the toothbrush is put away after use, the transferred bacteria can survive up to 6 hours of air drying on the toothbrush niche [K. Kozai].
Influence by Adjacent Communities (if any)
Is your niche close to another niche or influenced by another community of organisms?
Microbes that inhabit a toothbrush must come from somewhere, and a good amount of bacteria on the toothbrush originate from just the mouth, a niche that inhabits a plethora of microbes. The contact of the toothbrush with an oral cavity will thus cause microbes to transfer to the toothbrush.
In addition, a toothbrush's niche can be affected by another nearby toothbrush. Cross-contamination in a communal environment is likely since a typical household uses a holder to store multiple toothbrushes. Bacteria living on one toothbrush can thus be transferred to another nearby toothbrush during accidental contact [Peter R. Neal]. Occurrences like these will spread disease and cause another person to be sick when using the newly infected toothbrush. The same idea of bacteria transfer applies when sharing a toothbrush, which is bad hygiene practice.
Therefore, it makes sense that individuals should store their toothbrushes in separate holders or locations. The exception is storing a toothbrush in a closed container or cabinet. According to the American Dental Association, dark and moist environments are more favorable towards the growth of microorganisms than open air. In addition, though many studies and dentists take a different stance on when to change a toothbrush, one should do it every few months at the very least.
Conditions under which the environment changes
Do any of the physical conditions change? Are there chemicals, other organisms, nutrients, etc. that might change the community of your niche.
Who lives there?
Which microbes are present?
You may refer to organisms by genus or by genus and species, depending upon how detailed the your information might be. If there is already a microbewiki page describing that organism, make a link to it.
Are there any other non-microbes present?
Plants? Animals? Fungi? etc.
Do the microbes that are present interact with each other?
Describe any negative (competition) or positive (symbiosis) behavior
Do the microbes change their environment?
Do they alter pH, attach to surfaces, secrete anything, etc. etc.
Do the microbes carry out any metabolism that affects their environment?
Do they ferment sugars to produce acid, break down large molecules, fix nitrogen, etc. etc.
Current Research
Enter summaries of the most recent research. You may find it more appropriate to include this as a subsection under several of your other sections rather than separately here at the end. You should include at least FOUR topics of research and summarize each in terms of the question being asked, the results so far, and the topics for future study. (more will be expected from larger groups than from smaller groups)
References
Edited by [James Lin, Natalie Nguyen, Nicholas Phung, Sarah Fernandes], students of Rachel Larsen
