Abstract
Periodontitis is a highly prevalent polymicrobial disease worldwide, yet the synergistic pattern of the multiple oral pathogens involved is still poorly characterized. Here, saliva, supragingival and subgingival plaque samples from periodontitis patients and periodontally healthy volunteers were collected and profiled with 16S rRNA gene pyrosequencing. Different oral habitats harbored significantly different microbiota, and segregation of microbiota composition between periodontitis and health was observed as well. Two-step redundancy analysis identified twenty-one OTUs, including Porphyromonas gingivalis, Tannerella forsythia and Filifactor alocis, as potential pathogens that were significantly associated with periodontitis and with two periodontitis diagnostic parameters (pocket depth and attachment loss) in both saliva and supragingival plaque habitats. Interestingly, pairwise correlation analysis among the 21 OTUs revealed that Filifactor alocis was positively correlated with seven other putative pathogens (R > 0.6, P < 0.05), forming a co-occurrence group that was remarkably enriched in all three habitats of periodontitis patients. This bacterial cluster showed a higher diagnostic value for periodontitis than did any individual potential pathogens, especially in saliva. Thus, our study identified a potential synergistic ecological pattern involving eight co-infecting pathogens across various oral habitats, providing a new framework for understanding the etiology of periodontitis and developing new diagnoses and therapies.
Highlights
Periodontitis is a highly prevalent polymicrobial disease worldwide, yet the synergistic pattern of the multiple oral pathogens involved is still poorly characterized
Two-step redundancy analysis identified twenty-one Operational taxonomic unit (OTU), including Porphyromonas gingivalis, Tannerella forsythia and Filifactor alocis, as potential pathogens that were significantly associated with periodontitis and with two periodontitis diagnostic parameters in both saliva and supragingival plaque habitats
Pairwise correlation analysis among the 21 OTUs revealed that Filifactor alocis was positively correlated with seven other putative pathogens (R . 0.6, P, 0.05), forming a co-occurrence group that was remarkably enriched in all three habitats of periodontitis patients
Summary
Periodontitis is a highly prevalent polymicrobial disease worldwide, yet the synergistic pattern of the multiple oral pathogens involved is still poorly characterized. Two-step redundancy analysis identified twenty-one OTUs, including Porphyromonas gingivalis, Tannerella forsythia and Filifactor alocis, as potential pathogens that were significantly associated with periodontitis and with two periodontitis diagnostic parameters (pocket depth and attachment loss) in both saliva and supragingival plaque habitats. Polymicrobial diseases involve co-infection with multiple bacteria, which may act synergistically to contribute to disease progression and clinical outcomes[20] Such pathogens should be more likely to coexist at the diseased www.nature.com/scientificreports lesion, exhibiting a co-occurrence ecological pattern. An in vitro flow cell biofilm model demonstrated that P. gingivalis and T. denticola exhibit a strong synergy in polymicrobial biofilm formation[23] Such studies established that P. gingivalis can interact synergistically with other pathogens, but not whether this pathogen co-exists and co-infects with the other tested pathogens in situ. Whether these bacteria contribute to periodontal disease in random combinations or via specific synergistic patterns still remains a fundamental question
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