Oral microbiome : composition, interactions and shaping factors
Year: 2021
Type: dissertation
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Microbiome studies have burgeoned in the last few decades, largely thanks to the innovations in high throughput sequencing, affording researchers the opportunity to categorize nearly the entirety of the microbial population in a particular habitat. The oral cavity has been shown to harbor one of the most diverse and unique segments of the human microbiome, and one that has important implications in health and disease, as well as various links to lifestyle habits. In this thesis, we analyzed nearly 3000 oral rinse samples using 16S rRNA gene sequencing from a citizen science project called “Saca La Lengua” (“Stick Out Your Tongue” in English). The study design allowed our team to travel to high schools and other locations all across Spain to collect samples, as well as to disseminate information about the project to the public and to gather their input on interesting ways to analyze the data. Here, we first describe trends in the oral microbiome among youths in relative health, including general stable conformations of its composition and associations with drinking water and lifestyle. Then we focus on the connections between the oral microbiome and a few relevant chronic disorders, including Down Syndrome and cystic fibrosis. Finally, we display trends in abundances of specific taxa and in the overall composition across age, we compare the relative impacts of important health and lifestyle factors, and we highlight the importance of shared environments in shaping the oral microbiome. Taken together, this thesis provides some of the first snapshots of the oral microbiome across the Spanish population, revealing significant connections with oral and systemic health, as well as a multitude of lifestyle factors, ultimately pointing to its inherent ecological tendencies.
Author: Willis, Jesse
Language: English
Subfield: Periodontics
Field: Dentistry
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7014374493