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Microorganisms
Special Issues
Oral Microbiota: Diseases, Health, and Beyond
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Oral Microbiota: Diseases, Health, and Beyond

A special issue of Microorganisms (ISSN 2076-2607). This special issue belongs to the section "Medical Microbiology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2025 | Viewed by 1427

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Federica Di Spirito

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Guest Editor
Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry, Scuola Medica Salernitana, University of Salerno, 84126 Salerno, Italy
Interests: oral medicine and interconnected systemic disorders; oral microbiome, dysbiosis and interconnected systemic disorders; periodontology and implantology; applied technologies (disease prevention, teledentistry)
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Maria Pia Di Palo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry, University of Salerno, 84084 Baronissi, Italy
Interests: implant dentistry; periodontology; oral surgery; oral medicine
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Oral microbiota’ refers to the microorganisms that reside in the oral cavity, including bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protozoa. These microorganisms play a crucial role in maintaining oral health and preventing diseases. Indeed, both dental and periodontal biofilm are associated with specific oral diseases; for example, Streptococcus mutans is a key contributor to dental caries (tooth decay), while Porphyromonas gingivalis is linked to periodontitis (gum disease). Moreover, certain oral microorganisms are the causative pathogens of primary or secondary oral mucosal lesions.

The composition of the oral microbiota can be influenced by various factors, such as diet, hygiene practices, medication use, and systemic health conditions. Accordingly, some oral microorganisms have been implied in focal infections, as well as in systemic inflammatory disorders and benign and malignant neoplasms.

In adults and children, an early healthy balance of oral microbiota may aid in preventing and managing both dental and general health dysbiosis and related diseases and disorders. Accordingly, there has been growing interest in using probiotics (beneficial bacteria) to support oral health in recent years.

For this Special Issue, we invite you to send contributions related to aspects of oral microorganisms, both in health and disease, in adults and children.

Dr. Federica Di Spirito
Dr. Maria Pia Di Palo
Guest Editors

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.

Keywords

  • oral microbiota
  • oral bacteria
  • oral viruses
  • oral fungi
  • oral protozoa
  • oral health
  • oral disease

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

18 pages, 3452 KiB  
Article
Effects of Long-Term Heavy Metal Exposure on the Species Diversity, Functional Diversity, and Network Structure of Oral Mycobiome
by Jia Li, Shuwei Pei, Lu Feng, Jiangyun Liu, Qiwen Zheng, Xingrong Liu, Ye Ruan, Weigang Hu, Li Zhang, Jingping Niu and Tian Tian
Microorganisms 2025, 13(3), 622; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms13030622 - 7 Mar 2025
Viewed by 769
Abstract
Oral fungal homeostasis is closely related to the state of human health, and its composition is influenced by various factors. At present, the effects of long-term soil heavy metal exposure on the oral fungi of local populations have not been adequately studied. In [...] Read more.
Oral fungal homeostasis is closely related to the state of human health, and its composition is influenced by various factors. At present, the effects of long-term soil heavy metal exposure on the oral fungi of local populations have not been adequately studied. In this study, we used inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) to detect heavy metals in agricultural soils from two areas in Gansu Province, northwestern China. ITS amplicon sequencing was used to analyze the community composition of oral buccal mucosa fungi from local village residents. Simultaneously, the functional annotation of fungi was performed using FUNGuild, and co-occurrence networks were constructed to analyze the interactions of different functional fungi. The results showed that the species diversity of the oral fungi of local populations in the soil heavy metal exposure group was lower than that of the control population. The relative abundance of Apiotrichum and Cutaneotrichosporon was higher in the exposure group than in the control group. In addition, Cutaneotrichosporon is an Animal Pathogen, which may lead to an increased probability of disease in the exposure group. Meanwhile, there were significant differences in the co-occurrence network structure between the two groups. The control group had a larger and more stable network than the exposure group. Eight keystone taxa were observed in the network of the control group, while none were observed in that of the exposure group. In conclusion, heavy metal exposure may increase the risk of diseases associated with Apiotrichum and Cutaneotrichosporon infection in the local populations. It can also lead to the loss of keystone taxa and the reduced stability of the oral fungal network. The above results illustrated that heavy metal exposure impairs oral fungal interactions in the population. This study extends our understanding of the biodiversity of oral fungi in the population and provides new insights for further studies on the factors influencing oral fungal homeostasis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Oral Microbiota: Diseases, Health, and Beyond)
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