Year: 2025
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Fusobacterium nucleatum is an oral bacterium known to colonize colorectal tumors, where it is thought to play an important role in cancer progression. Recent advances in sequencing and phenotyping of F. nucleatum have revealed important differences at the subspecies level, but whether these differences impact the overall tumor ecology, and tumorigenesis itself, remain poorly understood. In this study, we sought to characterize Fusobacteria in the tumor microbiome of a cohort of individuals with CRC through a combination of molecular, spatial, and microbiologic analyses. We assessed for relative abundance of F. nucleatum in tumors compared to paired normal tissue, and correlated abundance with clinical and pathological features. We demonstrate striking enrichment of F. nucleatum and the recently discovered subspecies animalis clade 2 (Fna C2) specifically in colon tumors that have biofilms, highlighting the importance of complex community partnerships in the pathogenesis of this important organism.
Source: npj Biofilms and Microbiomes
Language: English
Subfield: Periodontics
Field: Dentistry
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $4,290
Funders: Burroughs Wellcome Fund, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Johns Hopkins University, Emerald Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Biocodex Microbiota Foundation, Cancer Research UK, Universiti Malaya, National Institutes of Health, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, National Cancer Institute, National Institute of General Medical Sciences, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Awards: G1032176113, G1165598027, Zeiss LSM780 Confocal Microscope for a Core Facility, G149138245, G1577313406, G1610190245, G2212752258, G3318661017, G3572430074, G465951118, G4776612682, G6445951524, G6743030886, G7316241620, G7577042636, G770599991, G7725588249, G7827179815, G9000041231, G9000065450, G9000066787, G9000234902, G9000321810
OpenAlex ID: W4410540850