Standardized studies of the oral microbiome: From technology‐driven to hypothesis‐driven

Abstract

The microbiome is in a symbiotic relationship with the host. Among the microbial consortia in the human body, that in the oral cavity is complex. Instead of repeatedly confirming biomarkers of oral and systemic diseases, recent studies have focused on a unified clinical diagnostic standard in microbiology that reduces the heterogeneity caused by individual discrepancies. Research has also been conducted on other topics of greater clinical importance, including bacterial pathogenesis, and the effects of drugs and treatments. In this review, we divide existing research into technology‐driven and hypothesis‐driven, according to whether there is a clear research hypothesis. This classification allows the demonstration of shifts in the direction of oral microbiology research. Based on the shifts, we suggested that establishing clear hypotheses may be the solution to major research challenges.

The sampling strategy of oral microbiome

“…Despite the fact that oral microbiota has been studied for decades, it still attracts considerable critical attention. Technology has dramatically increased our understanding of the morphological traits, composition, function, and interacting mechanism of oral microorganisms, allowing us to better explore the characteristics of the oral microbial community [ 9 ]. High‐throughput sequencing, for example, could provide a global view of the composition of microbial community [ 10 ]; fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) could present the spatial structure of plaque [ 11 ]; proteome and metabolism could help to reveal the metabolites of microorganisms; advanced laboratory techniques are available to investigate their function and pathogenicity.…”

Oral nitrate-reducing bacteria as potential probiotics for blood pressure homeostasis

“…The net ability of subgingival plaque bacteria to generate nitrite is associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular metabolic outcomes ( 48 ). The oral microbiome shows substantial potential in disease prevention, diagnosis, and treatment ( 57 ). Therefore, in the future disease prevention and treatment, targeted application of oral nitrate-reducing bacterial communities, combined with the consumption of foods and vegetables rich in nitrates.…”

Metagenomics: An Effective Approach for Exploring Microbial Diversity and Functions

“…In the human microbiome, the oral microbial communities have also been screened [137]. From the current oral microbiome data, about 56,213 metagenome-assembled genomes have been obtained, in which 64% of the sequences were not previously reported [115].…”