Toward Personalized Oral Diagnosis: Distinct Microbiome Clusters in Periodontitis Biofilms

Area of Science:

• Microbiology
• Periodontology
• Genomics

Background:

• Periodontitis arises from pathogenic subgingival microbial biofilms and host-microbe dysbiosis.
• Understanding the subgingival microbiome composition is crucial for diagnosing and treating periodontitis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To comprehensively characterize subgingival biofilms in periodontitis patients.
• To identify microbial community structures and their correlation with clinical parameters.
• To explore potential microbial indicators for targeted periodontal therapy.

Main Methods:

• Deep amplicon sequencing of 121 subgingival biofilms from nine periodontitis patients.
• Whole metagenomic analysis of saliva microbial communities from the same subjects.
• Correlation analysis between microbial clusters and clinical diagnostic parameters (probing pocket depth and clinical attachment level).

Main Results:

• Three distinct microbial clusters were identified in subgingival biofilms, correlating with probing pocket depth and clinical attachment level.
• Dysbiotic microbiomes associated with periodontitis exhibited lower diversity compared to healthy microbiomes within the same subjects.
• Tannerella forsythia was significantly more abundant (16-17 fold excess) in diseased pockets, suggesting its utility as a periodontitis indicator.

Conclusions:

• Discrete microbial communities in periodontitis reflect host immune selection.
• Tannerella forsythia serves as a potential biomarker for periodontitis.
• Findings support the development of targeted antibiotic treatments based on individual patient microbiomes.