Association of Fusobacterium nucleatum in human saliva with periodontal status and composition of the salivary microbiome including periodontopathogens

Abstract

ABSTRACT Fusobacterium nucleatum promotes dental biofilm formation, increases the prevalence of periodontal disease, and is associated with systemic diseases such as colorectal cancer. However, differences in the composition of salivary microbiome among groups based on the abundance of F. nucleatum are unclear. Therefore, we analyzed the difference in salivary microbiome among groups based on the abundance of F. nucleatum in saliva samples collected from 611 subjects in Japan. Salivary DNA was extracted, and the oral microbiome was analyzed using next-generation sequencing of 16S rRNA. The relationship between F. nucleatum and the community periodontal index was evaluated to examine effects on periodontal status, and α- and β-diversity were analyzed in four groups based on quantiles of relative abundance of F. nucleatum. Spearman rank correlation tests were used to examine relationships between the relative abundance of F. nucleatum and oral bacteria. Subjects with the highest quantiles of F. nucleatum had a higher prevalence of periodontitis compared with those with the lowest quantile. β-Diversity also differed among these four groups. F. nucleatum showed significant correlations with several periodontopathogens, including the red complex, Prevotella intermedia, Filifactor alocis, and Fretibacterium ssp. These results suggest that the relative abundance of F. nucleatum in saliva is associated with periodontal status and the composition of the salivary microbiome, including the red complex and periodontopathogens.IMPORTANCEWe characterized the composition of the saliva microbiome in groups based on the abundance of Fusobacterium nucleatum. There is a lot of periodontitis in subjects with a high abundance of F. nucleatum. The diversity of the saliva microbiome was different among groups based on the abundance of F. nucleatum. The abundance of F. nucleatum correlated with various periodontopathogens including red complex. These results support the influence of the abundance of F. nucleatum in saliva on periodontal status and the composition of the salivary microbiome, including the red complex and periodontopathogens.

Keywords

• Fusobacterium
• 16S rRNA
• red complex
• oral microbiome