Microbial biogeography and ecology of the mouth and implications for periodontal diseases
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- Human-associated microbial communities differ in composition among body sites and between habitats within a site. Patterns of variation in the distribution of organisms across time and space is referred to as ‘biogeography’. The human oral cavity is a critical observatory for exploring microbial biogeography because it is spatially structured, easily accessible, and its microbiota has been linked to the promotion of both health and disease. The biogeographic features of microbial communities residing in spatially distinct but ecologically similar environments on the human body, including the subgingival crevice, have not yet been adequately explored. The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, we seek to provide the dental community with a primer on biogeographic theory, highlighting its relevance to the study of the human oral cavity. For this reason, we summarize what is known about the biogeographic variation of dental caries and periodontitis and postulate as to how this may be driven by spatial patterning in oral microbial community composition and structure. Second, we present a number of methods that investigators can use to test specific hypotheses using biogeographic theory. To anchor our discussion, we apply each method to a case study and examine the spatial variation of the human subgingival microbiota of 2 individuals. Our case study suggests that subgingival communities in the aggregate may conform to an anterior-to-posterior gradient in community composition. The gradient appears to be structured both by deterministic and non-deterministic processes, though additional work is needed to test and confirm specific hypotheses. A better understanding of biogeographic patterns and processes will advance our understanding of ways to optimize the efficacy of dental interventions targeting the oral microbiota.
Description
| Type of resource | software, multimedia |
|---|---|
| Date created | 2019 |
Creators/Contributors
| Author | Proctor, DM |
|---|---|
| Author | Shelef, KM |
| Author | Gonzales, A |
| Author | Long, C |
| Author | Dethlefsen, L |
| Author | Burns, A |
| Author | Loomer, PL |
| Author | Armitage, GC |
| Author | Ryder, MI |
| Author | Millman, MI |
| Author | Knight, R |
| Author | Holmes, SP |
| Author | Relman, DA |
Subjects
| Subject | spatial pattern |
|---|---|
| Subject | oral microbiome |
| Subject | subgingival |
| Subject | supragingival |
| Subject | oral microbiota |
| Subject | biogeography |
| Genre | Dataset |
Bibliographic information
| Related Publication | ArXiv Preprint: https://doi.org/10.1101/541052 |
|---|---|
| Related Publication | Proctor DM, Fukuyama JA, Loomer PM, et al. A spatial gradient of bacterial diversity in the human oral cavity shaped by salivary flow. Nat Commun. 2018;9(1):681. |
| Location | https://purl.stanford.edu/fx440fg9601 |
Access conditions
- Use and reproduction
- User agrees that, where applicable, content will not be used to identify or to otherwise infringe the privacy or confidentiality rights of individuals. Content distributed via the Stanford Digital Repository may be subject to additional license and use restrictions applied by the depositor.
- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC).
Collection
Reproducible Research Support for Statistics of the Microbiome
View other items in this collection in SearchWorksContact information
- Contact
- dmap02@alumni.stanford.edu
Also listed in
Loading usage metrics...