The ubiquitous inflammophilic oral pathobiont Fusobacterium nucleatum (Fn) is widely recognized for its strong association with inflammatory dysbiotic diseases and cancer. Fn is subdivided into four subspecies, which are historically considered functionally interchangeable in the oral cavity. To test this assumption, we analyzed patient-matched dental plaque and odontogenic abscess clinical specimens and examined whether an inflammatory environment selects for/against particular Fn subspecies. Dental plaque harbored a greater diversity of fusobacteria, with Fn. polymorphum dominating, whereas odontogenic abscesses were exceptionally biased for the largely uncharacterized organism Fn. animalis. Comparative genomic analyses revealed significant genotypic distinctions among Fn subspecies that correlate with their preferred ecological niches and support a taxonomic reassignment of each as a distinct Fusobacterium species. Despite originating as a low-abundance organism in dental plaque, Fn. animalis typically outcompetes other oral fusobacteria within the inflammatory abscess environment, which may explain its prevalence in other oral and extraoral diseases.

普遍存在的炎性口腔致病菌具核梭杆菌( Fn ) 因其与炎症失调性疾病和癌症密切相关而被广泛认可。Fn分为四个亚种，历史上认为它们在口腔中的功能是可以互换的。为了检验这一假设，我们分析了患者匹配的牙菌斑和牙源性脓肿临床标本，并检查炎症环境是否选择/反对特定的Fn亚种。牙菌斑含有更丰富的梭菌多样性，其中包括Fn。多形菌占主导地位，而牙源性脓肿则特别偏向于很大程度上未表征的有机体Fn。动物界。比较基因组分析揭示了Fn亚种之间显着的基因型差异，这些差异与其偏好的生态位相关，并支持将每个亚种分类学重新分配为独特的梭杆菌属物种。尽管 Fn 最初是牙菌斑中的低丰度有机体，但Fn.在炎性脓肿环境中，动物杆菌通常会胜过其他口腔梭杆菌，这可能解释了它在其他口腔和口外疾病中的流行。