The microbial abundance dynamics of the paediatric oral cavity before and after sleep

Jessica A P Carlson-Jones; Anna Kontos; Declan Kennedy; James Martin; Kurt Lushington; Jody McKerral; James S Paterson; Renee J Smith; Lisa M Dann; Peter Speck; James G Mitchell

doi:10.1080/20002297.2020.1741254

The microbial abundance dynamics of the paediatric oral cavity before and after sleep

J Oral Microbiol. 2020 Mar 30;12(1):1741254. doi: 10.1080/20002297.2020.1741254. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Jessica A P Carlson-Jones^{1

2

3}, Anna Kontos^{1

2}, Declan Kennedy^{1

2}, James Martin^{1

2}, Kurt Lushington⁴, Jody McKerral³, James S Paterson³, Renee J Smith⁵, Lisa M Dann³, Peter Speck³, James G Mitchell³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Respiratory and Sleep Medicine, Women's and Children's Hospital, Adelaide, Australia.
² Robinson Research Institute, School of Paediatrics and Reproductive Health, the University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia.
³ College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
⁴ School of Psychology, Social Work and Social Policy, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia.
⁵ College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.

Abstract

Objective: Microhabitats in the oral cavity differ in microbial taxonomy. However, abundance variations of bacterial and viral communities within these microhabitats are not fully understood. Aims and Hypothesis: To assess the spatial distribution and dynamics of the microbial abundances within 6 microhabitats of the oral cavity before and after sleep. We hypothesise that the abundance distributions of these microbial communities will differ among oral sites. Methods: Using flow cytometry, bacterial and virus-like particle (VLP) abundances were enumerated for 6 oral microhabitats before and after sleep in 10 healthy paediatric sleepers. Results: Bacterial counts ranged from 7.2 ± 2.8 × 10⁵ at the palate before sleep to 1.3 ± 0.2 × 10⁸ at the back of the tongue after sleep, a difference of 187 times. VLPs ranged from 1.9 ± 1.0 × 10⁶ at the palate before sleep to 9.2 ± 5.0 × 10⁷ at the back of the tongue after sleep, a difference of 48 times. Conclusion: The oral cavity is a dynamic numerically heterogeneous environment where microbial communities can increase by a count of 100 million during sleep. Quantification of the paediatric oral microbiome complements taxonomic diversity information to show how biomass varies and shifts in space and time.

Keywords: Oral microbiome; bacteria; flow cytometry; sleep; viruses.

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Australian Research Council [DP150103018]; Australian Office for Learning and Teaching [NA (Prize)]; Channel 7 Children's Research Foundation [14864]; Women’s and Children’s Hospital Foundation [G00784].