Abstract
Periodontal disease (PD) is a significant problem in dogs affecting between 44% and 63.6% of the population. The main etiological agent for PD is plaque, a microbial biofilm that colonizes teeth and causes inflammation of the gingiva. Understanding how this biofilm initiates on the tooth surface is of central importance in developing interventions against PD. Although the stages of plaque development on human teeth have been well characterized little is known about how canine plaque develops. Recent studies of the canine oral microbiome have revealed distinct differences between the canine and human oral environments and the bacterial communities they support, particularly with respect to healthy plaque. These differences mean knowledge about the nature of plaque formation in humans may not be directly translatable to dogs. The aim of this study was to identify the bacterial species important in the early stages of canine plaque formation in vivo and then use isolates of these species in a laboratory biofilm model to develop an understanding of the sequential processes which take place during the initial colonization of enamel. Supra-gingival plaque samples were collected from 12 dogs at 24 and 48 hour time points following a full mouth descale and polish. Pyrosequencing of the 16S rDNA identified 134 operational taxonomic units after statistical analysis. The species with the highest relative abundance were Bergeyella zoohelcum, Neisseria shayeganii and a Moraxella species. Streptococcal species, which tend to dominate early human plaque biofilms, had very low relative abundance. In vitro testing of biofilm formation identified five primary colonizer species, three of which belonged to the genus Neisseria. Using these pioneer bacteria as a starting point, viable two and three species communities were developed. Combining in vivo and in vitro data has led us to construct novel models of how the early canine plaque biofilm develops.
Highlights
Periodontitis is one of the most prevalent diseases in both humans and dogs
Statistical analysis resulted in 134 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) plus the rare group, with the rare group accounting for an average of 4.8% of sequence
This study is the first characterization of the bacteria important in early stage canine plaque biofilm development and begins to translate the growing bank of available knowledge on canine oral microbiota into an understanding of the dynamic processes occurring during plaque formation
Summary
Periodontitis is one of the most prevalent diseases in both humans and dogs. In both species, studies have estimated that approximately 45% to 65% of the population are affected by the condition with rates varying depending on age, diagnosis criteria and in the case of dogs, breed [1,2,3,4,5]. The bacterial population in canine plaque was shown to be widely divergent from that of humans with only 16.4% of taxa shared [10]. This suggests that during canine oral biofilm development there may be alternative mechanisms at play driving microbial succession and, as a result, the progression of periodontitis. Studying how human and canine PD develop in response to differing microbial communities may in time allow shared, and important, features in the microbial succession process to be identified
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