title: Restricted diversity of dental calculus methanogens over five centuries, France.
abstract: Methanogens are acknowledged archaeal members of modern dental calculus microbiota and dental pathogen complexes. Their repertoire in ancient dental calculus is poorly known. We therefore investigated archaea in one hundred dental calculus specimens collected from individuals recovered from six archaeological sites in France dated from the 14(th) to 19(th) centuries AD. Dental calculus was demonstrated by macroscopic and cone-beam observations. In 56 calculus specimens free of PCR inhibition, PCR sequencing identified Candidatus Methanobrevibacter sp. N13 in 44.6%, Methanobrevibacter oralis in 19.6%, a new Methanomassiliicoccus luminyensis-like methanogen in 12.5%, a Candidatus Nitrososphaera evergladensis-like in one and Methanoculleus bourgensis in one specimen, respectively. One Candidatus Methanobrevibacter sp. N13 dental calculus was further documented by fluorescent in situ hybridization. The prevalence of dental calculus M. oralis was significantly lower in past populations than in modern populations (P = 0.03, Chi-square test). This investigation revealed a previously unknown repertoire of archaea found in the oral cavity of past French populations as reflected in preserved dental calculus.
authors.affiliation: Aix Marseille Université, Faculté d'Odontologie, Marseille 13005, France.|Aix Marseille Université, URMITE, UMR CNRS 7278, IRD 198, INSERM 1095, Faculté de Médecine, Marseille 13005, France.
authors.forename: Hong T T
authors.initials: HT
authors.lastname: Huynh
authors.affiliation: Aix Marseille Université, URMITE, UMR CNRS 7278, IRD 198, INSERM 1095, Faculté de Médecine, Marseille 13005, France.
authors.forename: Vanessa D
authors.initials: VD
authors.lastname: Nkamga
authors.affiliation: Aix-Marseille Université, UMR 7268 ADES, EFS CNRS, Faculté de Médecine Secteur Nord, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Signoli
authors.affiliation: Aix-Marseille Université, UMR 7268 ADES, EFS CNRS, Faculté de Médecine Secteur Nord, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Stéfan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tzortzis
authors.affiliation: Institut National de Recherches Archéologiques Préventives, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Romuald
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pinguet
authors.affiliation: Aix Marseille Université, URMITE, UMR CNRS 7278, IRD 198, INSERM 1095, Faculté de Médecine, Marseille 13005, France.
authors.forename: Gilles
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Audoly
authors.affiliation: Aix Marseille Université, Faculté d'Odontologie, Marseille 13005, France.|Aix Marseille Université, URMITE, UMR CNRS 7278, IRD 198, INSERM 1095, Faculté de Médecine, Marseille 13005, France.
authors.forename: Gérard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Aboudharam
authors.affiliation: Aix Marseille Université, URMITE, UMR CNRS 7278, IRD 198, INSERM 1095, Faculté de Médecine, Marseille 13005, France.
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Drancourt
mesh_terms: D001105:Archaea / Q000378:metabolism*; D044822:Biodiversity; D003728:Dental Calculus / Q000382:microbiology*; D004926:Escherichia coli; D005602:France; D006801:Humans; D017404:In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; D008697:Methane / Q000378:metabolism*; D010802:Phylogeny; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
chemical_list: D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; D008697:Methane