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Abstract
Here, we describe the "Obelisks," a previously unrecognised class of viroid-like elements that we first identified in human gut metatranscriptomic data. "Obelisks" share several properties: (i) apparently circular RNA ~1kb genome assemblies, (ii) predicted rod-like secondary structures encompassing the entire genome, and (iii) open reading frames coding for a novel protein superfamily, which we call the "Oblins". We find that Obelisks form their own distinct phylogenetic group with no detectable sequence or structural similarity to known biological agents. Further, Obelisks are prevalent in tested human microbiome metatranscriptomes with representatives detected in ~7% of analysed stool metatranscriptomes (29/440) and in ~50% of analysed oral metatranscriptomes (17/32). Obelisk compositions appear to differ between the anatomic sites and are capable of persisting in individuals, with continued presence over >300 days observed in one case. Large scale searches identified 29,959 Obelisks (clustered at 90% nucleotide identity), with examples from all seven continents and in diverse ecological niches. From this search, a subset of Obelisks are identified to code for Obelisk-specific variants of the hammerhead type-III self-cleaving ribozyme. Lastly, we identified one case of a bacterial species (Streptococcus sanguinis) in which a subset of defined laboratory strains harboured a specific Obelisk RNA population. As such, Obelisks comprise a class of diverse RNAs that have colonised, and gone unnoticed in, human, and global microbiomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ivan N Zheludev
- Stanford University, Department of Biochemistry, Stanford, CA, USA
| | | | - Maria Jose Lopez-Galiano
- Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas, Universidad Politécnica de Valencia-CSIC, Valencia, Spain
| | - Marcos de la Peña
- Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas, Universidad Politécnica de Valencia-CSIC, Valencia, Spain
| | - Artem Babaian
- University of Toronto, Department of Molecular Genetics, Ontario, Canada
- University of Toronto, Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research, Ontario, Canada
| | - Ami S Bhatt
- Stanford University, Department of Genetics, Stanford, CA, USA
- Stanford University, Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Andrew Z Fire
- Stanford University, Department of Genetics, Stanford, CA, USA
- Stanford University, Department of Pathology, Stanford, CA, USA
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Fujimoto A, Fujii K, Suido H, Fukuike H, Miyake N, Suzuki H, Eguchi T, Tobata H. Changes in oral microflora following 0.3% cetylpyridinium chloride-containing mouth spray intervention in adult volunteers after professional oral care: Randomized clinical study. Clin Exp Dent Res 2023; 9:1034-1043. [PMID: 38041504 PMCID: PMC10728501 DOI: 10.1002/cre2.810] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2023] [Revised: 10/12/2023] [Accepted: 10/24/2023] [Indexed: 12/03/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES This study explored the changes in bacterial flora composition and total bacterial count in the saliva and tongue coating, along with the change in the tongue coating index (TCI) following an intervention with 0.3% cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) mouth spray after professional oral care. MATERIALS AND METHODS Fifty-two adult volunteers aged 30-60 years were equally divided into CPC spray (n = 26) and control (n = 26) groups. All subjects underwent scaling and polishing. The CPC spray group was administered four puffs of CPC spray to the tongue dorsum four times a day for 3 weeks. The control group performed only routine daily oral care (brushing) and did not use any other spray. Bacteriological evaluation of saliva and tongue coating was performed using 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing and quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The tongue coating was evaluated to calculate the TCI. A per-protocol analysis was conducted for 44 subjects (CPC spray group, n = 23; control group, n = 21). RESULTS At 1 and 3 weeks after CPC spray use, the flora of the saliva and tongue coating changed; the genus Haemophilus was dominant in the CPC spray group, whereas the genus Saccharibacteria was dominant in the control group. The sampling time differed among individual participants, which may have affected the bacterial counts. There was no significant intragroup change in TCI in either group. CONCLUSIONS CPC spray affected the bacterial flora in the saliva and tongue coating, particularly with respect to an increase in the abundance of Haemophilus. However, CPC spray did not change the TCI. These results suggest that it may be optimal to combine CPC spray with a physical cleaning method such as using a tongue brush or scraper. Clinical Trial Registration: University Hospital Medical Information Network UMIN000041140.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ai Fujimoto
- Research and Development, Sunstar Inc.OsakaJapan
| | - Kana Fujii
- Research and Development, Sunstar Inc.OsakaJapan
| | - Hirohisa Suido
- Department of Health and Nutrition, Faculty of Health ScienceKyoto Koka Women's UniversityKyotoJapan
| | - Hisae Fukuike
- Oral Health Promotion, Affiliated with the Sunstar FoundationOsakaJapan
| | - Naoko Miyake
- Sunstar Senri Dental Clinic, Affiliated with the Sunstar FoundationOsakaJapan
| | - Hidenori Suzuki
- Sunstar Senri Dental Clinic, Affiliated with the Sunstar FoundationOsakaJapan
| | - Toru Eguchi
- Research and Development, Sunstar Inc.OsakaJapan
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Sexton RE, Uddin MH, Bannoura S, Khan HY, Mzannar Y, Li Y, Aboukameel A, Al-Hallak MN, Al-Share B, Mohamed A, Nagasaka M, El-Rayes B, Azmi AS. Connecting the Human Microbiome and Pancreatic Cancer. Cancer Metastasis Rev 2022; 41:317-331. [PMID: 35366155 PMCID: PMC8976105 DOI: 10.1007/s10555-022-10022-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2022] [Accepted: 03/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Pancreatic cancer is a deadly disease that is increasing in incidence throughout the world. There are no clear causal factors associated with the incidence of pancreatic cancer; however, some correlation to smoking, diabetes and alcohol has been described. Recently, a few studies have linked the human microbiome (oral and gastrointestinal tract) to pancreatic cancer development. A perturbed microbiome has been shown to alter normal cells while promoting cancer-related processes such as increased cell signaling, immune system evasion and invasion. In this article, we will review in detail the alterations within the gut and oral microbiome that have been linked to pancreatic cancer and explore the ability of other microbiomes, such as the lung and skin microbiome, to contribute to disease development. Understanding ways to identify a perturbed microbiome can result in advancements in pancreatic cancer research and allow for prevention, earlier detection and alternative treatment strategies for patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel E Sexton
- Department of Oncology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Karmanos Cancer Institute, 4100 John R, Detroit, MI, 48201, USA
| | - Md Hafiz Uddin
- Department of Oncology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Karmanos Cancer Institute, 4100 John R, Detroit, MI, 48201, USA
| | - Sahar Bannoura
- Department of Oncology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Karmanos Cancer Institute, 4100 John R, Detroit, MI, 48201, USA
| | - Husain Yar Khan
- Department of Oncology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Karmanos Cancer Institute, 4100 John R, Detroit, MI, 48201, USA
| | - Yousef Mzannar
- Department of Oncology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Karmanos Cancer Institute, 4100 John R, Detroit, MI, 48201, USA
| | - Yiwei Li
- Department of Oncology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Karmanos Cancer Institute, 4100 John R, Detroit, MI, 48201, USA
| | - Amro Aboukameel
- Department of Oncology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Karmanos Cancer Institute, 4100 John R, Detroit, MI, 48201, USA
| | - Mohammad Najeeb Al-Hallak
- Department of Oncology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Karmanos Cancer Institute, 4100 John R, Detroit, MI, 48201, USA
| | - Bayan Al-Share
- Department of Oncology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Karmanos Cancer Institute, 4100 John R, Detroit, MI, 48201, USA
| | - Amr Mohamed
- UH Seidman Cancer Center, University Hospitals, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA
- Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Misako Nagasaka
- University of California, Irvine, UCI Health Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, CA, Irvine, USA
| | - Bassel El-Rayes
- O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Alabama, AL, Tuscaloosa, USA
| | - Asfar S Azmi
- Department of Oncology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Karmanos Cancer Institute, 4100 John R, Detroit, MI, 48201, USA.
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Ma ZS. Spatial heterogeneity analysis of the human virome with Taylor's power law. Comput Struct Biotechnol J 2021; 19:2921-2927. [PMID: 34136092 PMCID: PMC8164015 DOI: 10.1016/j.csbj.2021.04.069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2020] [Revised: 04/27/2021] [Accepted: 04/27/2021] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Spatial heterogeneity is a fundamental characteristic of organisms from viruses to humans. Measuring heterogeneity is challenging, especially for naked-eye invisible viruses, but of obvious importance. For example, spatial heterogeneity of virus distribution may strongly influence infection spreading and outbreaks in the case of pathogenic viruses; the spatial distribution (i.e., the inter-subject heterogeneity) of commensal viruses within/on our bodies can influence the competition, coexistence, and dispersal of viruses within or between our bodies. Taylor's power law (TPL) was first discovered in the 1960s to describe the spatial distributions of plant and/or animal populations, and since then it has been verified by numerous experimental and theoretical studies. Recently, TPL has been extended from population to community level and applied to bacterial communities. Here we report the first comprehensive testing of the TPL fitted to human virome datasets. It was found that the human virome follows the TPL as bacterial communities do. Furthermore, the TPL heterogeneity scaling parameter of human virome is virtually the same as that of the human bacterial microbiome (1.916 vs. 1.926). We postulate that the extreme closeness of human viruses and bacteria in heterogeneity scaling coefficients could be attributed to the fact that most of the viruses that were annotated in this study actually belong to bacteriophages (86% viral OTUs) that "piggyback" on their bacterial hosts, and their distributions are likely host-dependent. The scaling parameter, which measures the inter-subject heterogeneity changes, should be an innate property of human microbiomes including both bacteria and viruses. It is similar to the acceleration coefficient of the gravity (g = 9.8) as specified by Newton's law, which is invariant on the earth. Nevertheless, we caution that our postulation is contingent on an implicit assumption that the proportion of bacteriophages to total virome may not change significantly when more virus species can be identified in future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhanshan Sam Ma
- Computational Biology and Medical Ecology Lab, State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China.,Center for Excellence in Animal Evolution and Genetics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China
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Dias CK, Starke R, Pylro VS, Morais DK. Database limitations for studying the human gut microbiome. PeerJ Comput Sci 2020; 6:e289. [PMID: 33816940 PMCID: PMC7924478 DOI: 10.7717/peerj-cs.289] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2019] [Accepted: 07/15/2020] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND In the last twenty years, new methodologies have made possible the gathering of large amounts of data concerning the genetic information and metabolic functions associated to the human gut microbiome. In spite of that, processing all this data available might not be the simplest of tasks, which could result in an excess of information awaiting proper annotation. This assessment intended on evaluating how well respected databases could describe a mock human gut microbiome. METHODS In this work, we critically evaluate the output of the cross-reference between the Uniprot Knowledge Base (Uniprot KB) and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes Orthologs (KEGG Orthologs) or the evolutionary genealogy of genes: Non-supervised Orthologous groups (EggNOG) databases regarding a list of species that were previously found in the human gut microbiome. RESULTS From a list which contemplates 131 species and 52 genera, 53 species and 40 genera had corresponding entries for KEGG Database and 82 species and 47 genera had corresponding entries for EggNOG Database. Moreover, we present the KEGG Orthologs (KOs) and EggNOG Orthologs (NOGs) entries associated to the search as their distribution over species and genera and lists of functions that appeared in many species or genera, the "core" functions of the human gut microbiome. We also present the relative abundance of KOs and NOGs throughout phyla and genera. Lastly, we expose a variance found between searches with different arguments on the database entries. Inferring functionality based on cross-referencing UniProt and KEGG or EggNOG can be lackluster due to the low number of annotated species in Uniprot and due to the lower number of functions affiliated to the majority of these species. Additionally, the EggNOG database showed greater performance for a cross-search with Uniprot about a mock human gut microbiome. Notwithstanding, efforts targeting cultivation, single-cell sequencing or the reconstruction of high-quality metagenome-assembled genomes (MAG) and their annotation are needed to allow the use of these databases for inferring functionality in human gut microbiome studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camila K Dias
- Departament of Biochemistry, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
| | - Robert Starke
- Institute of Microbiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Victor S. Pylro
- Department of Biology, Universidade Federal de Lavras - UFLA, Lavras, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Daniel K. Morais
- Institute of Microbiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
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Han M, Yang P, Zhou H, Li H, Ning K. Metagenomics and Single-Cell Omics Data Analysis for Human Microbiome Research. Adv Exp Med Biol 2016; 939:117-37. [PMID: 27807746 DOI: 10.1007/978-981-10-1503-8_6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Microbes are ubiquitous on our planet, and it is well known that the total number of microbial cells on earth is huge. These organisms usually live in communities, and each of these communities has a different taxonomical structure. As such, microbial communities would serve as the largest reservoir of genes and genetic functions for a vast number of applications in "bio"-related disciplines, especially in biomedicine. Human microbiome is the area in which the relationships between ourselves as hosts and our microbiomes have been examined.In this chapter, we have first reviewed the researches in microbes on community, population and single-cell levels in general. Then we have focused on the effects of recent metagenomics and single-cell advances on human microbiome research, as well as their effects on translational biomedical research. We have also foreseen that with the advancement of big-data analysis techniques, deeper understanding of human microbiome, as well as its broader applications, could be realized.
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