Acquisition of oral microbiota is driven by environment, not host genetics.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The oral microbiota is acquired very early, but the factors shaping its acquisition are not well understood. Previous studies comparing monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins have suggested that host genetics plays a role. However, all twins share an equal portion of their parent's genome, so this model is not informative for studying parent-to-child transmission. We used a novel study design that allowed us to directly examine the genetics of transmission by comparing the oral microbiota of biological versus adoptive mother-child dyads.

Results

No difference was observed in how closely oral bacterial community profiles matched for adoptive versus biological mother-child pairs, indicating little if any effect of host genetics on the fidelity of transmission. Bo

SUBMITTER: Mukherjee C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7903647 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature