title: Bacteria and archaea paleomicrobiology of the dental calculus: a review.
abstract: Dental calculus, a material observed in the majority of adults worldwide, emerged as a source for correlating paleomicrobiology with human health and diet. This mini review of 48 articles on the paleomicrobiology of dental calculus over 7550 years discloses a secular core microbiota comprising nine bacterial phyla - Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, TM7, Synergistetes, Chloroflexi, Fusobacteria, Spirochetes - and one archaeal phylum Euryarchaeota; and some accessory microbiota that appear and disappear according to time frame. The diet residues and oral microbes, including bacteria, archaea, viruses and fungi, consisting of harmless organisms and pathogens associated with local and systemic infections have been found trapped in ancient dental calculus by morphological approaches, immunolabeling techniques, isotope analyses, fluorescent in situ hybridization, DNA-based approaches, and protein-based approaches. These observations led to correlation of paleomicrobiology, particularly Streptococcus mutans and archaea, with past human health and diet.
authors.affiliation: Faculté d'Odontologie, Aix-Marseille Université, Marseille, France.|URMITE, UMR CNRS 7278, IRD 198, INSERM 1095, Faculté de Médecine, Aix-Marseille Université, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: H T T
authors.initials: HT
authors.lastname: Huynh
authors.affiliation: URMITE, UMR CNRS 7278, IRD 198, INSERM 1095, Faculté de Médecine, Aix-Marseille Université, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Verneau
authors.affiliation: URMITE, UMR CNRS 7278, IRD 198, INSERM 1095, Faculté de Médecine, Aix-Marseille Université, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Levasseur
authors.affiliation: URMITE, UMR CNRS 7278, IRD 198, INSERM 1095, Faculté de Médecine, Aix-Marseille Université, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Drancourt
authors.affiliation: Faculté d'Odontologie, Aix-Marseille Université, Marseille, France.|URMITE, UMR CNRS 7278, IRD 198, INSERM 1095, Faculté de Médecine, Aix-Marseille Université, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Aboudharam
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001105:Archaea / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D001419:Bacteria / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D041963:Bacteroidetes / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D003728:Dental Calculus / Q000266:history* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000821:virology; D004032:Diet / Q000266:history; D005673:Fusobacterium / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D049690:History, Ancient; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007553:Isotope Labeling; D064307:Microbiota; D010161:Paleodontology; D010802:Phylogeny; D020560:Proteobacteria / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D013295:Streptococcus mutans / Q000235:genetics
keywords: ancient dental calculus; archaea; caries; dental plaque; diet; paleomicrobiology; periodontal diseases