Porphyromonas: A neglected potential key genus in human microbiomes

Anaerobe. 2021 Apr:68:102230. doi: 10.1016/j.anaerobe.2020.102230. Epub 2020 Jun 30.

Abstract

Anaerobes form a large part of microbial communities, and have begun to be specifically studied in both healthy and pathologic contexts. Porphyromonas is one of the top ten anaerobic taxa in the microbiome (anaerobiome) in healthy subjects. However, to date, most studies focused on the deleterious role of P. gingivalis, the most widely described species. Interestingly, targeted metagenomics reveals Porphyromonas other than gingivalis (POTG), highlighting other species such as P. catoniae or P. pasteri as potential biomarkers in disease progression or pathogen colonization susceptibility. From the sparse data, it appears that the Porphyromonas genus may also be a relevant target of investigation in several pulmonary diseases. Moreover, deciphering cutaneous, gastric and oral microbiomes hint that Porphyromonas may be a genus of interest in non-pulmonary diseases. This review aims to summarize the major data on POTG and to report their impact on the various human microbiomes in different clinical states.

Keywords: Anaerobes; Gastric microbiome; Lung microbiome; Oral microbiome; Porphyromonas; Porphyromonas catoniae; Porphyromonas pasteri; Skin microbiome.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Bacteroidaceae Infections / microbiology*
  • Humans
  • Microbiota*
  • Phylogeny
  • Porphyromonas / classification
  • Porphyromonas / genetics
  • Porphyromonas / growth & development
  • Porphyromonas / isolation & purification*