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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol.
Sec. Clinical Microbiology
Volume 15 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2025.1542562
Investigation of Dynamic Microbial Migration Patterns in the Respiratory Tract
Provisionally accepted
Ping Fang 1
Yanhua Wen 2
Wenjing Deng 1 Ruobing Liang 2
Ping He 1 Chunya Wang 1 Na Fan 1 Kaikai Huo 1 Kaikai Zhao 1 Cong Li 1 Ying Bai 1 Yuwan Ma 1 Long Hu 2
Yuanlin Guan 2*
Shuanying Yang 1*- 1 The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China
- 2 Hugobiotech Co. Ltd., Beijing, China
The role of the respiratory microbiome in lung diseases is increasingly recognized, with the potential migration of respiratory pathogens being a significant clinical consideration. Despite its importance, evidence elucidating this phenomenon remains scarce.: This prospective study collected clinical samples from patients with suspected lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI), including oropharyngeal swabs (OPS), sputum, and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF). Metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) was employed to analyze respiratory microbial diversity, complemented by Bayesian source tracking and sequence alignment analyses to explore pathogen migration patterns.Results: A cohort of 68 patients was enrolled, with 56 diagnosed with LRTI and 12 with non-infectious respiratory conditions. A statistically significant disparity in respiratory microbiome diversity was observed between infected and non-infected groups (p < 0.05).Intriguingly, no significant variations in microbial community structure, including alpha and beta diversity, were detected across different respiratory tract sites within individuals. The Bayesian source tracking analysis revealed a pronounced migration pattern among pathogens compared to the overall microbial community, with migration ratios of 51.54% and 1.92%, respectively (p < 0.05). Sequence similarity analysis further corroborated these findings, highlighting a notable homology among specific migrating pathogens.This study represents a pioneering effort in deducing pathogen migration patterns through microbial source tracking analysis. The findings provide novel insights that could significantly advance clinical diagnostics and therapeutic strategies for respiratory infections.
Keywords: Lower respiratory tract infections, Airway microbiome, Source tracking analysis, Pathogen migration, Metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS). 4
Received: 10 Dec 2024; Accepted: 02 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Fang, Wen, Deng, Liang, He, Wang, Fan, Huo, Zhao, Li, Bai, Ma, Hu, Guan and Yang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Yuanlin Guan, Hugobiotech Co. Ltd., Beijing, China
Shuanying Yang, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710049, Shaanxi Province, China
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