Subgingival microbiota of Sri Lankan tea labourers naïve to oral hygiene measures.
OBJECTIVE
To characterize the subgingival microbiota within a cohort of adult males (n = 32) naïve to oral hygiene practices, and to compare the composition of bacterial taxa present in periodontal sites with various probing depths.


METHODS
Subgingival plaque samples were collected from single shallow pocket [pocket probing depth (PPD)≤3 mm] and deep pocket (PPD≥6 mm) sites from each subject. A polymerase chain reaction based strategy was used to construct a clone library of 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes for each site. The sequences of ca. 30-60 plasmid clones were determined for each site to identify resident taxa. Microbial composition was compared using a variety of statistical and bioinformatics approaches.


RESULTS
A total of 1887 cloned 16S rRNA gene sequences were analysed, which were assigned to 318 operational taxonomic units (98% identity cut-off). The subgingival microbiota was dominated by Firmicutes (69.8%), Proteobacteria (16.3%), and Fusobacteria (8.0%). The overall composition of microbial communities in shallow sites was significantly different from those within deep sites (∫-Libshuff, p < 0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
A taxonomically diverse subgingival microbiota was present within this cohort; however, the structures of the microbial communities present in the respective subjects exhibited limited variation. Deep and shallow sites contained notably different microbial compositions, but this was not correlated with the rate of periodontal progression.
Faculty of Dentistry, Implant Dentistry, Oral Rehabilitation, The University of Hong Kong, Prince Philip Dental Hospital, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Long-Fei
LF
Zhuang
Rory M
RM
Watt
Sarah
S
Steiner
Bich Hue
BH
Lang-Hua
Ren
R
Wang
Christoph A
CA
Ramseier
Niklaus P
NP
Lang
D000368:Aged; D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003773:Dental Plaque / Q000382:microbiology*; D019649:Food Industry; D045182:Fusobacteria / Q000145:classification; D006094:Gram-Positive Bacteria / Q000145:classification; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009910:Oral Hygiene; D010514:Periodontal Pocket / Q000145:classification / Q000382:microbiology; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D020560:Proteobacteria / Q000145:classification; D012329:RNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000032:analysis; D017423:Sequence Analysis, RNA / Q000145:classification; D013188:Sri Lanka; D013662:Tea
D012329:RNA, Bacterial; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; D013662:Tea
disease aetiology; microbial ecology; oral hygiene; periodontitis; subgingival plaque