Advances in the Human Oral Microbiome: From Ecology to Precision Therapeutics

Dear Colleagues,

The oral cavity harbors one of the most taxonomically diverse microbial communities in the human body, influencing local health, systemic disease, and even therapeutic outcomes. Recent multi-omics profiling, high-resolution imaging, and mechanistic studies have revealed previously unrecognized pathways by which bacterial, fungal, and viral consortia modulate host immunity, metabolite production, and inter-microbial signaling. Concurrently, precision interventions—ranging from targeted antimicrobials and probiotics to biomaterial-based delivery systems—are emerging to reshape dysbiotic oral niches without collateral damage to commensals.

This Special Issue of Microorganisms invites original research articles, short communications, and state-of-the-art reviews that deepen our understanding of the oral microbiome’s structure, function, and translation to clinical practice. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following research areas:

• Ecology and Evolution: Population genetics, core versus niche-specific taxa, and microbial biogeography within the oral cavity;
• Multi-omics Integration: Coupled metagenomic, metatranscriptomic, metabolomic, and spatial transcriptomic approaches;
• Host–Microbe Interactions: Innate and adaptive immune responses, epithelial barrier modulation, and signaling crosstalk;
• Microbiome-Driven Diagnostics: Salivary biomarkers, AI-enabled prediction models, and point-of-care assays;
• Therapeutic Innovations: Precision antimicrobials, live biotherapeutic products, phage therapy, and biofilm-disrupting materials;
• Systemic Connections: Oral–gut, oral–lung, and oral–systemic axes in cardiometabolic, respiratory, and neurodegenerative diseases.

Manuscripts will undergo rapid, rigorous peer review and be published on an open-access platform to maximize visibility. We particularly welcome interdisciplinary collaborations that bridge fundamental microbiology, clinical dentistry, immunology, bioengineering, and computational biology. We invite you to submit your work to help shape the next decade of oral microbiome research and its translation into precision oral healthcare.

Prof. Dr. Dennis Cvitkovitch
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Microorganisms is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• oral microbiome
• biofilm ecology
• multi-omics profiling
• host–microbe interactions
• precision therapeutics
• salivary diagnostics
• dysbiosis and disease
• probiotics and phage therapy
• spatial imaging
• oral–systemic axis