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Assessing the Viability of a Synthetic Bacterial Consortium on the In Vitro Gut Host-microbe Interface
Published on: July 4, 2018
The canine oral microbiome
Floyd E Dewhirst1, Erin A Klein, Emily C Thompson
1Department of Molecular Genetics, The Forsyth Institute, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. fdewhirst@forsyth.org
Plos One
|May 5, 2012
Summary
The canine oral microbiome differs significantly from humans, with only 16.4% shared bacterial taxa. This study establishes a new taxonomic framework for canine oral bacteria, crucial for veterinary and medical research.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Comparative Genomics
- Veterinary Science
Background:
- The human oral microbiome is well-characterized, but canine oral microbiomes remain underexplored using culture-independent methods.
- Canine oral bacteria are relevant to both veterinary and human health, yet many are unnamed and lack taxonomic classification.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize the bacterial composition of the canine oral microbiome.
- To compare the canine oral microbiome with the human oral microbiome.
- To develop a provisional taxonomic scheme for canine oral bacteria based on 16S rRNA gene sequences.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of 5,958 16S rRNA gene sequences from 65 canine oral clone libraries.
- Obtaining full-length 16S rRNA reference sequences for 353 canine bacterial taxa.
- Utilizing a 98.5% 16S rRNA sequence similarity cutoff for taxonomic comparisons.
Main Results:
- Identified 353 canine bacterial taxa across 14 phyla, 23 classes, 37 orders, 66 families, and 148 genera.
- Found that 80% of the identified canine oral taxa are currently unnamed.
- Demonstrated significant divergence between canine and human oral microbiomes, with only 16.4% shared taxa.
Conclusions:
- Canine and human oral microbiomes are markedly different, challenging traditional bacterial identification methods based on phenotypic similarities.
- The findings provide a foundational 16S rRNA-based taxonomic framework for canine oral bacteria.
- This research is vital for understanding canine oral health, infectious diseases, and comparative mammalian microbiome studies.
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