Small, but smelly: the importance of Solobacterium moorei in halitosis and other human infections

Ibrahim Barrak; Anette Stájer; Márió Gajdács; Edit Urbán

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e05371

Small, but smelly: the importance of Solobacterium moorei in halitosis and other human infections

Heliyon. 2020 Oct 29;6(10):e05371. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e05371. eCollection 2020 Oct.

Authors

Ibrahim Barrak¹, Anette Stájer¹, Márió Gajdács^{2

3}, Edit Urbán^{4

5}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Prosthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Szeged, Tiszta Lajos körút 62-64, 6720 Szeged, Hungary.
² Department of Pharmacodynamics and Biopharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Szeged, 6720 Szeged, Eötvös utca 6, Hungary.
³ Institute of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Semmelweis University, 1089 Budapest, Nagyvárad tér 4, Hungary.
⁴ Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of Pécs Medical School, 7624 Pécs, Szigeti út 12, Hungary.
⁵ Institute of Translational Medicine, University of Pécs Medical School, 7624 Pécs, Szigeti út 12, Hungary.

Abstract

Solobacterium moorei (S. moorei) has been described as Gram-positive, non spore forming, obligate anaerobic bacillus from human feces. The traditional culture and identification of these strains is very difficult (as the strains are often not cultivable or they grow only relatively slowly, in addition to producing only a very few positive biochemical reactions in commercially available identification kits); thus, reliable identification may only be carried out using methods, such as matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry and DNA sequencing. Regarding its pathogenic role, the relevance of S. moorei in halitosis (oral malodor) has a good standing, as it has been suggested by multiple studies, while the isolation of these bacteria from invasive infections is very rare; there are only a few reports available in the literature, regarding infections outside the oral cavity. Based on these reports, affected patients are predominantly characterized compromised immunity and are frequently associated with a dental focus of infection. The aim of our present review is to summarize the currently available knowledge on the pathogenic role of S. moorei in halitosis and other infections and to emphasize the relevance of this neglected anaerobic pathogen.

Keywords: Anaerobe; Bacteremia; Clinical research; Dentistry; Epidemiology; Halitosis; Infectious disease; MALDI-TOF MS; Malodor; Microbiology; Solobacterium moorei.

Publication types

Review