宏基因组学及其在口腔微生物研究中的应用

宏基因组是指环境中所有微生物的遗传物质总和。宏基因组学技术可以最大限度地利用环境中的微生物资源，受到了国内外微生物研究者的重点关注。口腔中寄居着大量的微生物群落，以往对口腔疾病微生物的研究大多局限于单纯的细菌培养技术，然而，由于培养技术的局限性，部分微生物很难或根本不能培养，宏基因组学技术打破了这一局限性，帮助人类发掘更丰富的口腔微生物资源。最近，以宏基因组学测序为基础的研究描绘出了口腔生态系统的图谱，越来越多的实验证明口腔微生物组在各种口腔疾病甚至全身系统性疾病中的重要作用。同时，这也为基于人类微生物组的诊断和治疗开辟了新的途径。本综述旨在说明宏基因组学是研究人类口腔疾病及全身疾病相关微生物的得力工具，而且具有广阔的发展前景，同时也讨论了宏基因组学在应用中有待克服的局限性。

Metagenomics and its application in the study of oral microorganisms

Metagenome refers to the sum of genetic material of all the microorganisms in an environment. The technology of metagenomics can make the best use of microbial resources in the environment, which has attracted increasing attention of microbiological researchers at home and abroad. There is a large number of microorganisms in the oral cavity, and the available studies about the microorganisms causing oral diseases are mostly limited to bacterial culture method. However, some microorganisms are difficult or unable to be cultured. Metagenomics technology will break this limitation and help to explore more oral microbial resources. Recent studies based on metagenomic sequencing have mapped the oral ecosystem, and more and more experiments have proved the role of oral microbiome in oral diseases and even systemic diseases. At the same time, these studies pave a new way for the diagnosis and treatment based on human microbiome. This review demonstrates that metagenomics is a powerful tool for the study of microorganisms related to human oral diseases and systemic diseases and has a broad development prospect, and also discusses the limitations to be overcome in the application of metagenomics.