Many bacteria in the wound are unknown to us. This is why they call it dark matter in the article below. We know it is there but cannot see it. The entire system in a wound bed is called the microbiome, it may be compared to a city in its diversity and complexity. We are now beginning to understand what this means to wound healing. In a healthy subject, the microbiome may well be part of the normal wound healing process whereas in a compromised wound it may have a very different role.
One reason for looking into this is pure curiosity. Another may be to discover new bacteria and new ways bacteria and human cells live together in the wound. The last and more intriguing reason is S aureus and P. aeruginosa may be just the flock while we still have to find the shepherd. Like P. gingivalis is a shepherd in gingivitis. In the article of Hajishengallis it is described that a les abundant microbe is actually controlling the mouth microbiome like a shepherd controls a flock. Metagenomic research may bring us something, if only if S.aureus and P.aeruginosa are flock or shepherd. Hopefully, it will unravel the systems in the wound which may be more important that the individual cells. (meaning the system describes roles to be fulfilled and which organism actually fulfills it is less important.) Anyway, let us hope we are abele to discern between detrimental microbes and microbes which have a more positive role in wound healing.
In the end, this type of research will allow us to decide when and how to remove the microbiome or when it makes sense to take a more probiotic approach.
- http://www.nature.com/news/mining-the-microbial-dark-matter-1.17774
- Hajishengallis, G. Lamont, R. J. Breaking bad: Manipulation of the host response by Porphyromonas gingivalis. Eur. J. Immunol. 44.2.1521-4141 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/eji.201344202
- http://www.nature.com/nrmicro/posters/metagenomics/posters.pdf
- https://microbewiki.kenyon.edu/index.php/Pseudomonas_aeruginosa_infection
- http://www.nature.com/nrmicro/posters/pseudomonas/posters.pdf