TY - JOUR
T1 - Oral microbiome metabolism
T2 - From "who are they?" to "what are they doing?"
AU - Takahashi, N.
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was partly supported by KAKENHI (no. 60183852) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Japan.
Publisher Copyright:
© International & American Associations for Dental Research 2015.
PY - 2015/12/1
Y1 - 2015/12/1
N2 - Recent advances in molecular biology have facilitated analyses of the oral microbiome ("Who are they?"); however, its functions (e.g., metabolic activities) are poorly understood ("What are they doing?"). This review aims to summarize our current understanding of the metabolism of the oral microbiome. Saccharolytic bacteria - including Streptococcus, Actinomyces, and Lactobacillus species - degrade carbohydrates into organic acids via the Embden-Meyerhof-Parnas pathway and several of its branch pathways, resulting in dental caries, while alkalization and acid neutralization via the arginine deiminase system, urease, and so on, counteract acidification. Proteolytic/amino acid-degrading bacteria, including Prevotella and Porphyromonas species, break down proteins and peptides into amino acids and degrade them further via specific pathways to produce short-chain fatty acids, ammonia, sulfur compounds, and indole/skatole, which act as virulent and modifying factors in periodontitis and oral malodor. Furthermore, it is suggested that ethanol-derived acetaldehyde can cause oral cancer, while nitrate-derived nitrite can aid caries prevention and systemic health. Microbial metabolic activity is influenced by the oral environment; however, it can also modify the oral environment, enhance the pathogenicity of bacteria, and induce microbial selection to create more pathogenic microbiome. Taking a metabolomic approach to analyzing the oral microbiome is crucial to improving our understanding of the functions of the oral microbiome.
AB - Recent advances in molecular biology have facilitated analyses of the oral microbiome ("Who are they?"); however, its functions (e.g., metabolic activities) are poorly understood ("What are they doing?"). This review aims to summarize our current understanding of the metabolism of the oral microbiome. Saccharolytic bacteria - including Streptococcus, Actinomyces, and Lactobacillus species - degrade carbohydrates into organic acids via the Embden-Meyerhof-Parnas pathway and several of its branch pathways, resulting in dental caries, while alkalization and acid neutralization via the arginine deiminase system, urease, and so on, counteract acidification. Proteolytic/amino acid-degrading bacteria, including Prevotella and Porphyromonas species, break down proteins and peptides into amino acids and degrade them further via specific pathways to produce short-chain fatty acids, ammonia, sulfur compounds, and indole/skatole, which act as virulent and modifying factors in periodontitis and oral malodor. Furthermore, it is suggested that ethanol-derived acetaldehyde can cause oral cancer, while nitrate-derived nitrite can aid caries prevention and systemic health. Microbial metabolic activity is influenced by the oral environment; however, it can also modify the oral environment, enhance the pathogenicity of bacteria, and induce microbial selection to create more pathogenic microbiome. Taking a metabolomic approach to analyzing the oral microbiome is crucial to improving our understanding of the functions of the oral microbiome.
KW - amino acid
KW - carbohydrate
KW - dental caries
KW - oral biofilm
KW - oral malodor
KW - periodontal diseases
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84948433356&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84948433356&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/0022034515606045
DO - 10.1177/0022034515606045
M3 - Review article
C2 - 26377570
AN - SCOPUS:84948433356
SN - 0022-0345
VL - 94
SP - 1628
EP - 1637
JO - Journal of Dental Research
JF - Journal of Dental Research
IS - 12
ER -