Cited by 183Oral microbiology and periodontitis researchGut microbiota and healthDental Health and Care Utilization

Patterns of Oral Microbiota Diversity in Adults and Children: A Crowdsourced Population Study

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Burcham, Zachary M., Garneau, Nicole L., Comstock, Sarah S., Tucker, Robin M., Knight, Rob, Metcalf, Jessica L., Genetics of Taste Lab Citizen Scientists, Miranda, Anjelica +17 more·2020·Scientific Reports

Abstract

Oral microbiome dysbiosis has been associated with various local and systemic human diseases such as dental caries, periodontal disease, obesity, and cardiovascular disease. Bacterial composition may be affected by age, oral health, diet, and geography, although information about the natural variation found in the general public is still lacking. In this study, citizen-scientists used a crowdsourcing model to obtain oral bacterial composition data from guests at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science to determine if previously suspected oral microbiome associations with an individual’s demographics, lifestyle, and/or genetics are robust and generalizable enough to be detected within a general population. Consistent with past research, we found bacterial composition to be more diverse in youth microbiomes when compared to adults. Adult oral microbiomes were predominantly impacted by oral health habits, while youth microbiomes were impacted by biological sex and weight status. The oral pathogen Treponema was detected more commonly in adults without recent dentist visits and in obese youth. Additionally, oral microbiomes from participants of the same family were more similar to each other than to oral microbiomes from non-related individuals. These results suggest that previously reported oral microbiome associations are observable in a human population containing the natural variation commonly found in the general public. Furthermore, these results support the use of crowdsourced data as a valid methodology to obtain community-based microbiome data.

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  • A 2020 study of crowd-sourced oral microbial swabs, taken from a large sample representative of the general population, showed that bacterial diversity of oral microbiomes seems to decline with age.

    “A 2020 study of crowd‐sourced oral microbial swabs, taken from a large sample representative of the general population, showed that bacterial diversity of oral microbiomes seems to decline with age,133”

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  1. [58]Tucker, R. M., Garneau, N. L., Nuessle, T. M. & Jackie, C. Relationships Between Oral Health Measures, Sweet Taste Intensity, Liking, and Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Intake. in Chemical senses vol. 43 E48–E48 (Oxford Univ Press Great Clarendon St, Oxford Ox2 6Dp, England, 2018).

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Authors
Burcham, Z. M., Garneau, N. L., Comstock, S. S., Tucker, R. M., Knight, R., Metcalf, J. L., Scientists, G. O. T. L. C., Miranda, A., Reinhart, B., Meyers, D., Woltkamp, D., Boxer, E., Hutchens, J., Kim, K., Archer, M., McAteer, M., Huss, P., Defonseka, R., Stahle, S., Babu, S., Nuessle, T., Schowinsky, V., Covert, W., Truman, W., & Reusser, W.
Affiliations
  • Colorado State University (US)
  • Denver Museum of Nature and Science (US)
  • Michigan State University (US)
  • University of California San Diego (US)
Corresponding author
Metcalf, Jessica L.
Venue
Scientific Reports
Published
2020-02-07
Volume
10
Issue
1
Pages
2133-2133
ISSN
2045-2322 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W3004492427
Cited by
183
References
77
Citations by year
2026: 26 · 2025: 38 · 2024: 33 · 2023: 30 · 2022: 26 · 2021: 17 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 1
FWCI
21.71
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Scientific Reports (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
  • eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • Gen Foundation
  • AgBioResearch, Michigan State University
  • Denver Museum of Nature & Science Foundation
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Dentistry › Periodontics › Oral microbiology and periodontitis research
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Gut microbiota and health
  • Health Sciences › Dentistry › Periodontics › Dental Health and Care Utilization
Keywords
oral microbiota, dysbiosis, age differences, children and adolescents, oral health behavior, sex differences, obesity, Treponema, citizen science
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Bacteria, Cardiovascular Diseases, Child, Dental Caries, Diet, Female, Humans, Life Style, Male, Middle Aged, Mouth, Obesity, Periodontal Diseases, Biodiversity, Young Adult, Crowdsourcing, Microbiota, Dysbiosis

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