<p>As many as 80 million bacteria are transferred during a 10-second kiss, says a new study, adding that at least nine intimate kisses per day could lead to couples sharing similar communities of oral bacteria.<br /><br /></p>.<p>"Intimate kissing involving full tongue contact and saliva exchange appears to be a courtship behaviour unique to humans. We wanted to find out the extent to which partners share their oral microbiota. It turns out that the more a couple kiss, the more similar they are," said lead study author Remco Kort from the Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) in the Netherlands.<br /><br />Along with researchers from Micropia - the world's first museum on microbes - in Amsterdam, Kort studied 21 couples, asking them to fill out questionnaires on their kissing behaviour including their average intimate kiss frequency.<br /><br />In a controlled kissing experiment to quantify the transfer of bacteria, a member of each of the couples had a probiotic drink containing specific varieties of bacteria.<br /><br />After an intimate kiss, researchers found that the quantity of probiotic bacteria in the receiver's saliva rose threefold.<br /><br />They calculated that in total, 80 million bacteria would have been transferred during a 10-second kiss.<br /><br />"The results show that when couples intimately kiss at relatively high frequencies, their salivary microbiota become similar," Kort added.<br /><br />On an average, it was found that partners who kissed each other at least nine times a day shared similar communities of oral bacteria.<br /><br />The study also suggests an important role for other mechanisms that select oral microbiota, resulting from a shared lifestyle, dietary and personal care habits.<br /><br />The ecosystem of more than 100 trillion microorganisms that live in our bodies - the microbiome - is essential for the digestion of food, synthesizing nutrients, and preventing disease.<br /><br />It is shaped by genetics, diet, and age, but also the individuals with whom we interact.<br />With the mouth playing host to more than 700 varieties of bacteria, the oral microbiota also appear to be influenced by those closest to us.<br /><br />The research was published in the open access journal Microbiome.<br /></p>
<p>As many as 80 million bacteria are transferred during a 10-second kiss, says a new study, adding that at least nine intimate kisses per day could lead to couples sharing similar communities of oral bacteria.<br /><br /></p>.<p>"Intimate kissing involving full tongue contact and saliva exchange appears to be a courtship behaviour unique to humans. We wanted to find out the extent to which partners share their oral microbiota. It turns out that the more a couple kiss, the more similar they are," said lead study author Remco Kort from the Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) in the Netherlands.<br /><br />Along with researchers from Micropia - the world's first museum on microbes - in Amsterdam, Kort studied 21 couples, asking them to fill out questionnaires on their kissing behaviour including their average intimate kiss frequency.<br /><br />In a controlled kissing experiment to quantify the transfer of bacteria, a member of each of the couples had a probiotic drink containing specific varieties of bacteria.<br /><br />After an intimate kiss, researchers found that the quantity of probiotic bacteria in the receiver's saliva rose threefold.<br /><br />They calculated that in total, 80 million bacteria would have been transferred during a 10-second kiss.<br /><br />"The results show that when couples intimately kiss at relatively high frequencies, their salivary microbiota become similar," Kort added.<br /><br />On an average, it was found that partners who kissed each other at least nine times a day shared similar communities of oral bacteria.<br /><br />The study also suggests an important role for other mechanisms that select oral microbiota, resulting from a shared lifestyle, dietary and personal care habits.<br /><br />The ecosystem of more than 100 trillion microorganisms that live in our bodies - the microbiome - is essential for the digestion of food, synthesizing nutrients, and preventing disease.<br /><br />It is shaped by genetics, diet, and age, but also the individuals with whom we interact.<br />With the mouth playing host to more than 700 varieties of bacteria, the oral microbiota also appear to be influenced by those closest to us.<br /><br />The research was published in the open access journal Microbiome.<br /></p>