Journal of medical microbiology最新文献

{"title":"Dysbiosis-epigenetics-immune system interaction and ageing health problems.","authors":"Sima Ataollahi Eshkoor, Sara Fanijavadi","doi":"10.1099/jmm.0.001921","DOIUrl":"10.1099/jmm.0.001921","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><b>Background.</b> The growing interest in microbiota-epigenetics-immune system research stems from the understanding that microbiota, a group of micro-organisms colonized in the human body, can influence the gene expression through epigenetic mechanisms and interaction with the immune system. Epigenetics refers to changes in gene activity that are not caused by the alteration in the DNA sequence itself.<b>Discussion.</b> The clinical significance of this research lies in the potential to develop new therapies for diseases linked to the imbalance of these microbial species (dysbiosis), such as cancer and neurodegenerative diseases. The intricate interaction between microbiota and epigenetics involves the production of metabolites and signalling molecules that can impact our health by influencing immune responses, metabolism and inflammation. Understanding these interactions could lead to novel therapeutic strategies targeting microbiota-epigenetic pathways to improve health outcomes.<b>Conclusion.</b> In this context, we aim to review and emphasize the current knowledge and key concepts that link the microbiota to epigenetics and immune system function, exploring their relevance to the development and maintenance of homeostasis and susceptibility to different diseases later in life. We aim to elucidate key concepts concerning the interactions and potential effects among the human gut microbiota, epigenetics, the immune system and ageing diseases linked to dysbiosis.</p>","PeriodicalId":94093,"journal":{"name":"Journal of medical microbiology","volume":"73 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142741884","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Exploring gut microbiota diurnal fluctuation in alcohol-dependent patients with sleep disturbance.","authors":"Kangqing Zhao, Lingming Hu, Zhaojun Ni, Xiangxue Li, Ying Qin, Zhoulong Yu, Zhong Wang, Yanjing Liu, Jingwen Zhao, Wenjuan Peng, Jie Shi, Lin Lu, Hongqiang Sun","doi":"10.1099/jmm.0.001927","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1099/jmm.0.001927","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><b>Introduction.</b> Alcohol dependence (AD) and sleep disturbance (SD) independently affect gut microbiota, potentially disrupting the circadian rhythm of the microbiota and the host. However, the impact of SD on the composition and rhythmicity of gut flora in AD patients remains poorly understood.<b>Gap Statement.</b> Characteristics of gut flora and diurnal oscillations in AD patients experiencing SD are unknown.<b>Aim.</b> This study aims to explore alterations in gut flora and diurnal oscillations in AD patients experiencing SD.<b>Methodology.</b> Thirty-two AD patients and 20 healthy subjects participated, providing faecal samples at 7 : 00 AM, 11 : 00 AM, 3 : 00 PM and 7 : 00 PM for gut microbiota analysis using 16S rDNA sequencing. AD patients were further categorized into those with poor sleep (ADwPS) and those with good sleep (ADwGS) for further analyses.<b>Results.</b> The ADwPS group demonstrated elevated levels of anxiety, depression and withdrawal severity compared to the ADwGS group (all <i>P</i><0.05). The β-diversity of gut microbiota in the ADwPS group differed from that in the ADwGS group (<i>P</i><0.05). Bacterial abundances at various taxonomic levels, including Cyanobacteria and Pseudomonadales, differed between the ADwPS and ADwGS groups (all <i>P</i><0.05). Utilizing unweighted UniFrac analysis, the β-diversity of gut microbiota in the ADwPS group demonstrated robust diurnal oscillation (<i>P</i><0.05), whereas this pattern was statistically insignificant in the ADwGS group. Notably, the abundance of pathogenic bacteria like Pseudomonadales and <i>Pseudomonadaceae</i> exhibited marked diurnal fluctuation in the ADwPS group (all <i>P</i><0.05).<b>Conclusion.</b> SD in AD patients extends beyond alcohol-induced alterations, impacting gut microbiota composition, function and diurnal oscillation patterns. This highlights its add-on influence, supplementing AD-related changes.</p>","PeriodicalId":94093,"journal":{"name":"Journal of medical microbiology","volume":"73 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142678098","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Nanomotion technology: an innovative method to study cell metabolism in <i>Escherichia coli</i>, as a potential indicator for tolerance.","authors":"Christèle Aubry, Carole Kebbi-Beghdadi, Amanda Luraschi-Eggemann, Gino Cathomen, Danuta Cichocka, Alexander Sturm, Gilbert Greub, The Eradiamr Consortium","doi":"10.1099/jmm.0.001912","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1099/jmm.0.001912","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><b>Introduction.</b> Antibiotic tolerance corresponds to the bacterial ability to survive a transient exposure to antibiotics and is often associated with treatment failure. Current methods of identifying tolerance based on bacterial growth are time-consuming. This study explores the use of a growth-independent method utilizing nanomotion technology to detect antibiotic-tolerant bacteria.<b>Hypothesis.</b> The nanomotion signal obtained from a nanomechanical sensor measures real-time metabolic activity and cellular processes and could provide valuable information about the tolerance of bacteria to antibiotics that cannot be detected by standard antibiotic susceptibility tests.<b>Aim.</b> The aim of this study is to investigate the potential of nanomotion technology to record antibiotic-tolerant bacteria.<b>Methodology.</b> We generated a slow-growing <i>Escherichia coli</i> strain by manipulating <i>mazF</i> expression levels and confirmed its viability by several standard methods. We subsequently measured its nanomotion and the nanomotion of the WT <i>E. coli</i> in the presence or absence of antibiotics. Supervised machine learning was employed to distinguish slow-growing from exponentially growing bacteria. Observations for bacterial nanomotions were confirmed by standard kill curves.<b>Results.</b> We distinguished slow-growing from exponentially growing bacteria using specific features from the nanomotion signal. Furthermore, the exposition of both growth phenotypes to polymyxin decreased the nanomotion signal indicating cell death. Similarly, when exponentially growing cells were exposed to ampicillin, an antibiotic whose efficacy depends on the growth rate, the nanomotion signal also decreased. In contrast, the nanomotion signal remained unchanged for slow-growing bacteria upon exposure to ampicillin. In addition, antibiotic exposure can cause bacterial elongation, in which the biomass of a cell increases without cell division. By overexpressing <i>sulA</i>, we mimicked antibiotic-induced elongation. Differences in the nanomotion signal were observed when comparing elongating and non-elongating phenotypes.<b>Conclusion.</b> This work shows that nanomotion signals entail information about the reaction to antibiotics that standard MIC-based antibiotic susceptibility tests cannot detect. In the future, nanomotion-based antibiotic tolerance tests could be developed for clinical use in chronic or relapsing infections.</p>","PeriodicalId":94093,"journal":{"name":"Journal of medical microbiology","volume":"73 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142606775","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Antifungal resistance, clinical outcome and clinico-microbiological correlation in ocular infections due to common melanized fungi <i>Curvularia lunata</i> and <i>Lasiodiplodia theobromae</i> in South India.","authors":"Sanchita Mitra, Prashant Garg, Somasheila Murthy, Saumya Jakati, Vivek Pravin Dave, Esther Seba","doi":"10.1099/jmm.0.001924","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1099/jmm.0.001924","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><b>Aim.</b> Melanized fungi were rarely studied for their antifungal resistance (AFR) or clinical outcome, despite rising incidence of melanized fungal ocular infections and AFR in general. We report the antifungal resistance patterns, clinical outcome and clinico-microbiological correlation in two commonly isolated melanized fungi from ocular infections, <i>Curvularia lunata</i> and <i>Lasiodiplodia theobromae</i>, at a tertiary eyecare centre in South India.<b>Gap statement</b>. Despite melanized fungi accounting for a significant proportion of ocular fungal infections in the Indian subcontinent, and despite there being a limited selection of effective antifungal agents available for these infections, the existing data and studies on these issues remain sparse. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the prevalence of antifungal resistance in two of the most common melanized fungal pathogens in ocular infections, <i>Curvularia lunata</i> and <i>Lasiodiplodia theobromae</i> and correlate it with the treatment given and the clinical outcome in patients.<b>Methodology.</b> Electronic medical records provided the clinical data. Standard broth microdilution was performed for antifungal susceptibility testing (AFST) in 30 isolates (17 <i>C</i>. <i>lunata</i> and 13 <i>L</i>. <i>theobromae</i>) for amphotericin B and natamycin (polyenes): voriconazole, ketoconazole, posaconazole, itraconazole and fluconazole (azoles) and caspofungin (echinocandin). Multidrug resistance (MDR) was defined as resistance to more than or equal to two classes of antifungals. DNA sequencing was performed for the isolates for species confirmation. The multivariate analysis was done for determining poor prognostic factors.<b>Results.</b> AFST showed highest susceptibility of study isolates for voriconazole (83.3% isolates), followed by natamycin (80%), fluconazole (80%), itraconazole (76.7%), ketoconazole (70%), posaconazole (66.7%), caspofungin (66.7%) and lastly amphotericin B (63.3%). All patients empirically received topical natamycin; additional oral ketoconazole/intraocular voriconazole was administered in select few. MDR was strongly associated with poor clinical outcome (multivariate analysis: <i>P</i> = 0.03, odds ratio = 7.8). All patients had microbial keratitis, one progressed to endophthalmitis. Additionally, therapeutic penetrating keratoplasty was required in 40% of cases. Globe salvage was possible in 80% patients, though good visual outcome was seen in only half of them. Both, anatomical and visual outcomes, were poor in 20% of patients. DNA sequencing showed <i>C. lunata</i> as the highest study species.<b>Conclusion.</b> <i>C. lunata</i> and <i>L. theobromae</i> showed varying <i>in vitro</i> antifungal susceptibility and clinical outcome in ocular infections. Voriconazole had significantly higher activity, while amphotericin B had lower activity <i>in vitro</i> for these melanized fungi. MDR isolates showed poorer clinical outcome.</p>","PeriodicalId":94093,"journal":{"name":"Journal of medical microbiology","volume":"73 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142606394","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Genotypic analysis of Shiga toxin-producing <i>Escherichia coli</i> clonal complex 17 in England and Wales, 2014-2022.","authors":"Ching-Ying J Poh, Ella V Rodwell, Gauri Godbole, Claire Jenkins","doi":"10.1099/jmm.0.001928","DOIUrl":"10.1099/jmm.0.001928","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><b>Introduction.</b> Shiga toxin-producing <i>Escherichia coli</i> (STEC) are zoonotic, gastrointestinal pathogens characterized by the presence of the Shiga toxin (<i>stx</i>) gene. Historically, STEC O157:H7 clonal complex (CC) 11 has been the most clinically significant serotype; however, recently there has been an increase in non-O157 STEC serotypes, including STEC O103:H2 belonging to CC17.<b>Gap statement.</b> STEC O103:H2 is an STEC serotype frequently isolated in England, although little is known about the epidemiology, clinical significance, associated public health burden or evolutionary context of this strain.<b>Aim.</b> Surveillance data and whole-genome sequencing data were analysed to determine the microbiological characteristics and public health burden of CC17, including the clinically significant serotype O103:H2, in England and Wales.<b>Methodology.</b> Isolates of <i>E. coli</i> belonging to CC17 (<i>n</i>=425) submitted to the Gastrointestinal Bacteria Reference Unit from 2014 to 2022 were whole genome sequenced, integrated with enhanced surveillance questionnaire data and analysed retrospectively.<b>Results.</b> Overall, diagnoses of CC17 infection increased every year since 2014. Most cases were female (58.5%), with the highest proportion of cases belonging to the 0-4 age group (<i>n</i>=83/424, 19.6%). Clinical presentation data identified diarrhoea (92.1%), abdominal pain (72.4%) and blood in stool (55.3%) as the most frequent symptoms, while 20.4% cases were admitted to hospital and 1.3% developed haemolytic uraemic syndrome. The five most common established serotypes were O103:H2 (64.5%), O123:H2 (11.1%), O151:H2 (6.6%), O71:H2 (3.3%) and O4:H2 (2.6%). The majority of CC17 isolates (78.6%) had the <i>stx1a/eae</i> virulence gene combination. Nine outbreak clusters of STEC infections that were mainly geographically dispersed and temporally related were identified and associated with foodborne transmission.<b>Conclusions.</b> Nationwide implementation of PCR to detect non-O157 STEC and improvements to algorithms for the follow-up of PCR-positive faecal specimens is recommended. Enhanced surveillance is necessary to assess the incidence of CC17 infection and overall burden of this CC within the UK population.</p>","PeriodicalId":94093,"journal":{"name":"Journal of medical microbiology","volume":"73 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11542628/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142606486","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Commercial molecular diagnostic methods in infectious diseases: keeping up with the pathogens.","authors":"Emily J Goldstein, Catherine Moore, Tanya Curran, Rory N Gunson","doi":"10.1099/jmm.0.001923","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1099/jmm.0.001923","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":94093,"journal":{"name":"Journal of medical microbiology","volume":"73 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142635122","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Macrolide resistance is pervasive in oral streptococci in the Belgian general population: a cross-sectional survey.","authors":"Zoë Vanhout, Saïd Abdellati, Zina Gestels, Irith De Baetselier, Tessa de Block, Thibaut Vanbaelen, Sheeba Santhini Manoharan-Basil, Chris Kenyon","doi":"10.1099/jmm.0.001932","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1099/jmm.0.001932","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><b>Background.</b> Commensal streptococci are common inhabitants of the oral microbiome and regulate its structure and function in beneficial ways for human health. They can, however, also be opportunistic pathogens and act as a reservoir of resistance genes that can be passed on to other bacteria, including pathogens. Little is known about the prevalence of these commensals in parents and their children and their antimicrobial susceptibilities in the Belgian general population.<b>Gap Statement.</b> The macrolide susceptibility of commensal oral Streptococci in Belgium is unknown.<b>Methods.</b> We assessed the prevalence and azithromycin susceptibility of commensal streptococcal species in the parents (<i>n</i>=38) and children (<i>n</i>=50) of 35 families in Belgium.<b>Results.</b> The most frequently detected taxonomic grouping was <i>Streptococcus mitis/oralis</i>, which was detected in 78/181 (43.1%) of the children's isolates and 66/128 (51.6%) of the parents' isolates. Of the 311 isolates collected in this study, 282 isolates (90.7%) had an azithromycin MIC value greater than the breakpoint of 0.25 mg l^-1 and 146 isolates (46.9%) had azithromycin MICs greater than 2 mg l^-1. There was no difference in the azithromycin MIC distribution of all streptococcal isolates between children and parents. All individuals were colonized by streptococci with azithromycin MICs greater than 0.25 mg l^-1, and 87.5% of individuals had streptococci with MICs greater than 2 mg l^-1.<b>Interpretation.</b> The most prevalent species identified in both age groups was <i>S. mitis/oralis</i>. All individuals harboured streptococci with macrolide resistance. This highlights the need for additional antimicrobial stewardship initiatives to reduce the consumption of macrolides in the general population.</p>","PeriodicalId":94093,"journal":{"name":"Journal of medical microbiology","volume":"73 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142635139","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Knocking Out Antimicrobial Resistance editorial: reflections on the United Nations General Assembly high-level meeting on antimicrobial resistance.","authors":"Catrin E Moore, Lovleen Tina Joshi","doi":"10.1099/jmm.0.001937","DOIUrl":"10.1099/jmm.0.001937","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":94093,"journal":{"name":"Journal of medical microbiology","volume":"73 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11571957/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142649771","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"<i>Enterococcus faecalis</i> co-cultured with oral cancer cells exhibits higher virulence and promotes cancer cell survival, proliferation, and migration: an <i>in vitro</i> study.","authors":"Fida Fathima, Yuvarajan Subramaniyan, Akshatha Rai, Punchappady Devasya Rekha","doi":"10.1099/jmm.0.001931","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1099/jmm.0.001931","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><b>Introduction.</b> <i>Enterococcus faecalis</i> is a common pathogen associated with many oral diseases and is often isolated from oral cancer patients. However, limited information is available on its key virulence gene expression in oral cancer cell microenvironment and cancer cell behaviour in co-culture studies.<b>Hypothesis.</b> <i>E. faecalis</i> overexpresses virulence genes when co-cultured with oral cancer cells and possibly alters the tumour microenvironment, promoting oral cancer proliferation and survival.<b>Aim.</b> To investigate altered virulence gene expression in <i>E. faecalis</i> and oral cancer cell behaviour using <i>in vitro</i> co-culture experiments.<b>Methodology.</b> Cal27 cells were co-cultured with <i>E. faecalis</i> and assessed for their cell proliferation, apoptosis, migration and clonogenicity using standard cell culture assays. The levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and inflammatory cytokines, along with proliferative, angiogenic and apoptotic biomarker expressions, were also assessed. <i>E. faecalis</i> adherence to cancer cells was demonstrated by the gentamicin protection assay. Real time-PCR was used to analyse the expression of virulence genes.<b>Results.</b> Co-culture of Cal27 cells with <i>E. faecalis</i> showed significantly higher cell proliferation, migration and clonogenicity compared to the control (<i>P</i><0.01). A significant increase in the levels of ROS and inflammatory cytokines and overexpression of Ki67, vascular endothelial growth factor, extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2, phosphoinositide 3 kinase and Akt was observed in the co-culture group. <i>E. faecalis</i> also downregulated <i>p53</i> and <i>Bax</i> genes while upregulated <i>Bcl-2</i>. The virulence genes <i>GelE</i>, <i>Asa</i> and <i>Ace</i> were overexpressed in <i>E. faecalis</i> co-cultured with Cal27 cells.<b>Conclusion.</b> The results from this study indicate the possible risks of <i>E. faecalis</i> infection in oral cancer. An effective antibiotic strategy against <i>E. faecalis</i> to prevent complications associated with oral diseases, including cancer, is needed.</p>","PeriodicalId":94093,"journal":{"name":"Journal of medical microbiology","volume":"73 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142712233","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Multi-site analysis of biosynthetic gene clusters from the periodontitis oral microbiome.","authors":"Mohamad Koohi-Moghadam, Rory M Watt, W Keung Leung","doi":"10.1099/jmm.0.001898","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1099/jmm.0.001898","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><b>Background.</b> Bacteria significantly influence human health and disease, with bacterial biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) being crucial in the microbiome-host and microbe-microbe interactions.<b>Gap statement.</b> Despite extensive research into BGCs within the human gut microbiome, their roles in the oral microbiome are less understood.<b>Aim.</b> This pilot study utilizes high-throughput shotgun metagenomic sequencing to examine the oral microbiota in different niches, particularly focusing on the association of BGCs with periodontitis.<b>Methodology.</b> We analysed saliva, subgingival plaque and supragingival plaque samples from periodontitis patients (<i>n</i>=23) and controls (<i>n</i>=16). DNA was extracted from these samples using standardized protocols. The high-throughput shotgun metagenomic sequencing was then performed to obtain comprehensive genetic information from the microbial communities present in the samples.<b>Results.</b> Our study identified 10 742 BGCs, with certain clusters being niche-specific. Notably, aryl polyenes and bacteriocins were the most prevalent BGCs identified. We discovered several 'novel' BGCs that are widely represented across various bacterial phyla and identified BGCs that had different distributions between periodontitis and control subjects. Our systematic approach unveiled the previously unexplored biosynthetic pathways that may be key players in periodontitis.<b>Conclusions.</b> Our research expands the current metagenomic knowledge of the oral microbiota in both healthy and periodontally diseased states. These findings highlight the presence of novel biosynthetic pathways in the oral cavity and suggest a complex network of host-microbe and microbe-microbe interactions, potentially influencing periodontal disease. The BGCs identified in this study pave the way for future investigations into the role of small-molecule-mediated interactions within the human oral microbiota and their impact on periodontitis.</p>","PeriodicalId":94093,"journal":{"name":"Journal of medical microbiology","volume":"73 10","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142396379","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}