Oropharyngeal microbiome of a college population following a meningococcal disease outbreak

摘要: Asymptomatic oropharyngeal carriage of Neisseria meningitidis peaks in adolescence and young adulthood. Following a meningococcal disease outbreak at U.S. college, we profiled the microbiomes 158 students to identify associations between bacterial community composition or risk factors for carriage, including male gender, smoking, frequent social mixing. Metagenomic shotgun sequencing identified 268 taxa genus species level, with Streptococcus, Veillonella, Rothia being most abundant. Microbiome showed weak carriage. N. abundance was positively correlated that Fusobacterium nucleatum, consistent hypothesized propionic acid cross-feeding. Additional had positive correlations meningitidis, Aggregatibacter aphrophilus, Campylobacter rectus, Catonella morbi, Haemophilus haemolyticus, Parvimonas micra. negatively unidentified Veillonella species. Several these are commonly found dental plaque, while is primarily pharynx, suggesting ecological interactions extend throughout oral cavity. Although do not strongly impact oropharynx, variation upper respiratory tract microbiome may create conditions more less favorable