Clonal Analysis of the Microbiota of Severe Early Childhood Caries

Abstract

Background/Aims: Severe early childhood caries is a microbial infection that severely compromises the dentition of young children. The aim of this study was to characterize the microbiota of severe early childhood caries. Methods: Dental plaque samples from 2- to 6-year-old children were analyzed using 16S rRNA gene cloning and sequencing, and by specific PCR amplification for Streptococcus mutans and Bifidobacteriaceae species. Results: Children with severe caries (n = 39) had more dental plaque and gingival inflammation than caries-free children (n = 41). Analysis of phylotypes from operational taxonomic unit analysis of 16S rRNA clonal metalibraries from severe caries and caries-free children indicated that while libraries differed significantly (p < 0.0001), there was increased diversity than detected in this clonal analysis. Using the Human Oral Microbiome Database, 139 different taxa were identified. Within the limits of this study, caries-associated taxa included Granulicatella elegans (p < 0.01) and Veillonella sp. HOT-780 (p < 0.01). The species associated with caries-free children included Capnocytophaga gingivalis (p < 0.01), Abiotrophia defectiva (p < 0.01), Lachnospiraceae sp. HOT-100 (p < 0.05), Streptococcus sanguinis (p < 0.05) and Streptococcus cristatus (p < 0.05). By specific PCR, S. mutans (p < 0.005) and Bifidobacteriaceae spp. (p < 0.0001) were significantly associated with severe caries. Conclusion: Clonal analysis of 80 children identified a diverse microbiota that differed between severe caries and caries-free children, but the association of S. mutans with caries was from specific PCR analysis, not from clonal analysis, of samples.

Streptococcus gordonii comCDE (competence) operon modulates biofilm formation with Candida albicans

“…Mitis group streptococci are early colonizers of oral cavity surfaces and form the basis of many of the polymicrobial communities found in the mouth and nasopharynx (Aas et al, 2005;Kanasi et al, 2010;Shak et al, 2013;Xu et al, 2014a). Such communities may also contain C. albicans, which is carried by~40 % of the healthy adult population (Clayton & Noble, 1966), and it is suggested that synergistic interactions between C. albicans and streptococci can promote carriage as well as disease (Dutton et al, 2014;Falsetta et al, 2014;Xu et al, 2014b).…”

http://www.ijcmas.com/abstractview.php?ID=3029&vol=6-7-2017&SNo=54

“…The main habitats of oral Veillonella species are tongue biofilms, dental biofilms, buccal mucosa, and saliva (Hughes et al, 1988;Mashima et al, 2016;Liljemark and Gibbons, 1971). Oral Veillonella species, particularly V. parvula, have been detected in severe early childhood caries (Kanasi et al, 2010) and intraradicular infections (Sundqvist, 1992), including abscesses (Khamaleelakul et al, 2002), apical root canals (Baumgartner and Falkler Jr., 1991), and dental tubules (Peters et al, 2001). In addition, oral Veillonella species have been detected in saliva (Takeshita et al, 2009) and subgingival biofilm specimens (Heller et al, 2012;Mashima et al, 2015;Silva-Boghossian et al, 2013) from patients with chronic periodontitis.…”

Association of oral streptococci community dynamics with severe early childhood caries as assessed by PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis targeting the rnpB gene

“…Among these, mutans streptococci are considered to be the primary pathogens of dental caries (Thenisch et al, 2006). However, due to the complex interspecies interactions, there is also evidence to suggest that other species of oral streptococci may have different roles in the caries process (Kanasi et al, 2010). Most previous studies on the microbial risk indicators for dental caries have focused mainly on one or several possible pathogens Ge et al, 2008;Okada et al, 2005).…”

“…Initial attachment of oral streptococci determines the composition of later colonizers in the oral biofilm and impacts the caries status (Filoche et al, 2010). Although most investigations implicate mutans streptococci as the principal aetiological agents in early childhood caries, due to their prevalence in carious lesions (Thenisch et al, 2006), the mere presence of mutans streptococci is not sufficient to predict the formation of dental caries; other oral streptococcal species may also moderate caries outcome (Kanasi et al, 2010). To date, little is known about the changes in the diversity and composition of oral streptococci in relation to S-ECC.…”