A novel method for sampling subgingival microbiome - a comparative metatranscriptomic study

Abstract

The subgingival microbiome has been implicated in several oral and systemic diseases, such as periodontitis, arthritis, and Alzheimers disease. However, subgingival sampling is challenging and cannot be readily performed outside of primary care facilities. In order to support global, diverse, direct-to-participant clinical research studies, we developed a novel method of sampling the subgingival microbiome by rotationally swabbing the supragingival area, which we named subgingival-P (for proxy) samples. To validate this method, we sampled and metatranscriptomically analyzed subgingival and subgingival-P samples of three different teeth in 20 individuals. The subgingival-P samples were comparable to the subgingival samples in the relative abundances of microorganisms and microbial gene expression levels. Our data demonstrate that the novel method of collecting and analyzing the subgingival-P samples can act as a proxy for the subgingiva, paving the way for large and diverse studies investigating the role of the subgingival microbiome in health and disease.