Advances in the Study of Oral Bacterial Diversity Associated with Dental Caries by Genomic Study

Bárbara Astorga; Constanza Barraza; Juan Manuel Casals; María José Cisterna; Daniela Mena; Francisca Morales; Sergio González; Osmir de Oliveira Junior & Gustavo Moncada

Summary

Dental caries is an infectious, transmissible and multifactorial disease, which leads towards a reversible and irreversible loss of minerals found in hard tissues of a tooth, caused by acids from carbohydrates fermentation due to metabolic activity of the biofilm attached to the tooth surface. Although Streptococcus mutans has been thought to be responsible for tooth decay, another bacterium named no mutans has been linked to the beginning, progression and activity of the disease in the enamel, dentine and cement. One of the methodologies put into practice to deepen the study of oral bacteria diversity related to carious cavities is oral metagenome. This methodology allows the study of whole bacterial groups by the analysis of DNA in a particular environment without the need of isolating and cultivating species, providing information about the taxonomical and phylogenetic diversity of these groups. There are different methods to study the bacterial diversity, including 16 S rRNA analysis through electrophoresis, PCR, microarrays, next generation sequence (NGS). The metagenome tool permits to recognize species that have not been able to be isolated by conventional methods. As well as identify its presence or absence in the different stages of the dental caries development, which allows a better understanding of development of the disease. The metagenome-based study has revealed an unexpected oral microbial diversity, giving information relevant to the updating of knowledge and identifies new therapeutic targets. The purpose of this review is to present the main results has brought the study of the metagenome on microbial diversity, applied specifically to the oral bacterial community in health and caries disease.

KEY WORDS: dental caries, metagenome, oral microbiome, 16S rRNA.

How to cite this article

ASTORGA, B.; BARRAZA, C.; CASALS, J. M.; CISTERNA, M. J.; MENA, D.; MORALES, F.; GONZÁLEZ, S.; OLIVEIRA JUNIOR, O. & MONCADA, G. Advances in the study of oral bacterial diversity associated with dental caries by genomic study. Int. J. Odontostomat., 9(3):349-356, 2015.