AUTHOR=Yang Hao , Ma Yansong , Xie Xianju , Wang Hongmei , Li Xiaowei , Fang Dongyu , Bai Yuxing 

TITLE=Candida albicans enriched in orthodontic derived white spot lesions and shaped focal supragingival bacteriome

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=14

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2023.1084850

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2023.1084850

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p>White spot lesions (WSLs) are common enamel infectious diseases in fixed orthodontic treatment, which might attribute to the dysbiosis of oral microbiome. However, the correlation of <italic>Candida albicans</italic> with oral bacteriome in WSLs still remains unrevealed. This study investigated the carriage of <italic>C. albicans</italic> and how it shaped the bacterial community in disease or healthy supragingival plaque, to explore the potential role of interkingdom interaction in orthodontic WSLs. In this study, 31 patients with WSLs (WSLs) and 23 healthy patients (Health) undergoing fixed orthodontic treatment were enrolled. The supragingival microbiota in both groups were determined using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Colonization and abundance of <italic>C. albicans</italic> in the plaque were determined <italic>via</italic> culture-dependent and -independent methods. Among WSLs patients, the correlation of <italic>C. albicans</italic> and bacteriome was analyzed under QIIME2-based bioinformatics and Spearman’s correlation coefficient. The raw reads were deposited into the NCBI Sequence Read Archive (SRA) database (Accession Number: <ext-link ext-link-type="DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank" xlink:href="SRP404186" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">SRP404186</ext-link>). Significant differences in microbial diversity as well as composition were observed between WSLs and Health groups. <italic>Leptotrichia</italic> remarkably enriched in the WSLs group, while <italic>Neisseria</italic> and <italic>Cardiobacterium</italic> significantly enriched in the Health group. In addition, 45% of WSLs patients were <italic>C. albicans</italic> carriers but none in patients without WSLs. Among all WSLs patients, beta diversity and microbial composition were distinguished between <italic>C. albicans</italic> carriers and non-carriers. In <italic>C. albicans</italic> carriers, <italic>Corynebacterium matruchotii</italic> and <italic>Streptococcus mutans</italic> significantly enriched whereas <italic>Saccharibacteria_TM7_G-1</italic> significantly depleted. The abundance of <italic>C. albicans</italic> was positively associated with bacteria such as <italic>Streptococcus mutans</italic>, while the negative correlation was detected between <italic>C. albicans</italic> and several bacteria such as <italic>Cardiobacterium hominis</italic> and <italic>Streptococcus sanguinis.</italic> Our study elucidated the distinguished supragingival plaque microbiome between orthodontic patients with and without WSLs. <italic>C. albicans</italic> frequently existed and enriched in orthodontic derived WSLs. The carriage of <italic>C. albicans</italic> shape plaque bacterial community in demineralized lesions and might play roles in WSLs pathogenesis.</p>