Journal Article

Commensal and Pathogenic Members of the Dental Calculus Microbiome of Badia Pozzeveri Individuals from the 11th to 19th Centuries

Luciani, Stefania, Toranzos, Gary A., Fornaciari, Antonio, Giuffra, Valentina, Vercellotti, Giuseppe, Santiago-Rodriguez, Tasha M., Marota, Isolina, Cano, Raul J., Fornaciari, Gino

2019

Overview

The concept of the human oral microbiome was applied to understand health and disease, lifestyles, and dietary habits throughout part of human history. In the present study, we augment the understanding of ancient oral microbiomes by characterizing human dental calculus samples recovered from the ancient Abbey of Badia Pozzeveri (central Italy), with differences in socioeconomic status, time period, burial type, and sex. Samples dating from the Middle Ages (11th century) to the Industrial Revolution era (19th century) were characterized using high-throughput sequencing of the 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene V4 region. Consistent with previous studies, individuals from Badia Pozzeveri possessed commensal oral bacteria that resembled modern oral microbiomes. These results suggest that members of the oral microbiome are ubiquitous despite differences in geographical regions, time period, sex, and socioeconomic status. The presence of fecal bacteria could be in agreement with poor hygiene practices, consistent with the time period. Respiratory tract, nosocomial, and other rare pathogens detected in the dental calculus samples are intriguing and could suggest subject-specific comorbidities that could be reflected in the oral microbiome.

• Publisher: MDPI AG,MDPI
• Subject: 11th century / 13th century / 19th century / Adult / Archaeology / Bacteria / Bacteria - classification / Bacteria - genetics / Bacteria - isolation & purification / Cemeteries / Dental calculus / Dental Calculus - history / Dental Calculus - microbiology / Dental plaque / Feces - microbiology / Female / High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing - methods / Historic buildings & sites / History, 15th Century / History, 16th Century / History, 17th Century / History, 18th Century / History, 19th Century / History, Medieval / Hospitals / Humans / Hygiene / Industrial Revolution / Italy / Laboratories / Lifestyles / Lithic / Male / Microbiomes / Microbiota / Middle Aged / Middle Ages / Morphology / Next-generation sequencing / Phylogeny / Respiratory tract / RNA, Ribosomal, 16S - genetics / rRNA 16S / Sequence Analysis, RNA - methods / Socioeconomic factors / Symbiosis / Westernization / Young Adult