Taxonomic and Gene Category Analyses of Subgingival Plaques from a Group of Japanese Individuals with and without Periodontitis

Periodontitis is an inflammation of tooth-supporting tissues, which is caused by bacteria in the subgingival plaque (biofilm) and the host immune response. Traditionally, subgingival pathogens have been investigated using methods such as culturing, DNA probes, or PCR. The development of next-generat...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Kazuki Izawa, Kazuko Okamoto-Shibayama, Daichi Kita, Sachiyo Tomita, Atsushi Saito, Takashi Ishida, Masahito Ohue, Yutaka Akiyama, Kazuyuki Ishihara
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-05-01
Series:International Journal of Molecular Sciences
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/22/10/5298
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Summary:Periodontitis is an inflammation of tooth-supporting tissues, which is caused by bacteria in the subgingival plaque (biofilm) and the host immune response. Traditionally, subgingival pathogens have been investigated using methods such as culturing, DNA probes, or PCR. The development of next-generation sequencing made it possible to investigate the whole microbiome in the subgingival plaque. Previous studies have implicated dysbiosis of the subgingival microbiome in the etiology of periodontitis. However, details are still lacking. In this study, we conducted a metagenomic analysis of subgingival plaque samples from a group of Japanese individuals with and without periodontitis. In the taxonomic composition analysis, genus <i>Bacteroides</i> and <i>Mycobacterium</i> demonstrated significantly different compositions between healthy sites and sites with periodontal pockets. The results from the relative abundance of functional gene categories, carbohydrate metabolism, glycan biosynthesis and metabolism, amino acid metabolism, replication and repair showed significant differences between healthy sites and sites with periodontal pockets. These results provide important insights into the shift in the taxonomic and functional gene category abundance caused by dysbiosis, which occurs during the progression of periodontal disease.
ISSN:1661-6596
1422-0067