TY - JOUR
T1 - The dental calculus metabolome in modern and historic samples
AU - Velsko, Irina M.
AU - Overmyer, Katherine A.
AU - Speller, Camilla
AU - Klaus, Lauren
AU - Collins, Matthew James
AU - Loe, Louise
AU - Frantz, Laurent A. F.
AU - Sankaranarayanan, Krithivasan
AU - Lewis, Cecil M.
AU - Martinez, Juan Bautista Rodriguez
AU - Chaves, Eros
AU - Coon, Joshua J.
AU - Larson, Greger
AU - Warinner, Christina
PY - 2017/11
Y1 - 2017/11
N2 - Introduction: Dental calculus is a mineralized microbial dental plaque biofilm that forms throughout life by precipitation of salivary calcium salts. Successive cycles of dental plaque growth and calcification make it an unusually well-preserved, long-term record of host-microbial interaction in the archaeological record. Recent studies have confirmed the survival of authentic ancient DNA and proteins within historic and prehistoric dental calculus, making it a promising substrate for investigating oral microbiome evolution via direct measurement and comparison of modern and ancient specimens. Objective: We present the first comprehensive characterization of the human dental calculus metabolome using a multi-platform approach. Methods: Ultra performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC–MS/MS) quantified 285 metabolites in modern and historic (200 years old) dental calculus, including metabolites of drug and dietary origin. A subset of historic samples was additionally analyzed by high-resolution gas chromatography–MS (GC–MS) and UPLC–MS/MS for further characterization of metabolites and lipids. Metabolite profiles of modern and historic calculus were compared to identify patterns of persistence and loss. Results: Dipeptides, free amino acids, free nucleotides, and carbohydrates substantially decrease in abundance and ubiquity in archaeological samples, with some exceptions. Lipids generally persist, and saturated and mono-unsaturated medium and long chain fatty acids appear to be well-preserved, while metabolic derivatives related to oxidation and chemical degradation are found at higher levels in archaeological dental calculus than fresh samples. Conclusions: The results of this study indicate that certain metabolite classes have higher potential for recovery over long time scales and may serve as appropriate targets for oral microbiome evolutionary studies.
AB - Introduction: Dental calculus is a mineralized microbial dental plaque biofilm that forms throughout life by precipitation of salivary calcium salts. Successive cycles of dental plaque growth and calcification make it an unusually well-preserved, long-term record of host-microbial interaction in the archaeological record. Recent studies have confirmed the survival of authentic ancient DNA and proteins within historic and prehistoric dental calculus, making it a promising substrate for investigating oral microbiome evolution via direct measurement and comparison of modern and ancient specimens. Objective: We present the first comprehensive characterization of the human dental calculus metabolome using a multi-platform approach. Methods: Ultra performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC–MS/MS) quantified 285 metabolites in modern and historic (200 years old) dental calculus, including metabolites of drug and dietary origin. A subset of historic samples was additionally analyzed by high-resolution gas chromatography–MS (GC–MS) and UPLC–MS/MS for further characterization of metabolites and lipids. Metabolite profiles of modern and historic calculus were compared to identify patterns of persistence and loss. Results: Dipeptides, free amino acids, free nucleotides, and carbohydrates substantially decrease in abundance and ubiquity in archaeological samples, with some exceptions. Lipids generally persist, and saturated and mono-unsaturated medium and long chain fatty acids appear to be well-preserved, while metabolic derivatives related to oxidation and chemical degradation are found at higher levels in archaeological dental calculus than fresh samples. Conclusions: The results of this study indicate that certain metabolite classes have higher potential for recovery over long time scales and may serve as appropriate targets for oral microbiome evolutionary studies.
KW - Archaeology
KW - Dental plaque
KW - GC–MS
KW - Metabolomics
KW - Oral microbiome
KW - UPLC–MS/MS
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85030764239&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s11306-017-1270-3
DO - 10.1007/s11306-017-1270-3
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 29046620
AN - SCOPUS:85030764239
SN - 1573-3882
VL - 13
JO - Metabolomics
JF - Metabolomics
IS - 11
M1 - 134
ER -