TY - JOUR
T1 - Impact of age on pneumococcal colonization of the nasopharynx and oral cavity: an ecological perspective
AU - Miellet, Willem R
AU - Mariman, Rob
AU - van Veldhuizen, Janieke
AU - Badoux, Paul
AU - Wijmenga-Monsuur, Alienke J
AU - Litt, David
AU - Bosch, Thijs
AU - Miller, Elizabeth
AU - Fry, Norman K
AU - van Houten, Marianne A
AU - Rots, Nynke Y
AU - Sanders, Elisabeth A M
AU - Trzciński, Krzysztof
N1 - © The Author(s) [2024]. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Society for Microbial Ecology.
PY - 2024/1
Y1 - 2024/1
N2 - Pneumococcal carriage studies have suggested that pneumococcal colonization in adults is largely limited to the oral cavity and oropharynx. In this study, we used total abundance-based β-diversity (dissimilarity) and β-diversity components to characterize age-related differences in pneumococcal serotype composition of respiratory samples. quantitative PCR (qPCR) was applied to detect pneumococcal serotypes in nasopharyngeal samples collected from 946 toddlers and 602 adults, saliva samples collected from a subset of 653 toddlers, and saliva and oropharyngeal samples collected from a subset of 318 adults. Bacterial culture rates from nasopharyngeal samples were used to characterize age-related differences in rates of colonizing bacteria. Dissimilarity in pneumococcal serotype composition was low among saliva and nasopharyngeal samples from children. In contrast, respiratory samples from adults exhibited high serotype dissimilarity, which predominantly consisted of abundance gradients and was associated with reduced nasopharyngeal colonization. Age-related serotype dissimilarity was high among nasopharyngeal samples and relatively low for saliva samples. Reduced nasopharyngeal colonization by pneumococcal serotypes coincided with significantly reduced
Moraxella catarrhalis and
Haemophilus influenzae and increased
Staphylococcus aureus nasopharyngeal colonization rates among adults. Findings from this study suggest that within-host environmental conditions, utilized in the upper airways by pneumococcus and other bacteria, undergo age-related changes. It may result in a host-driven ecological succession of bacterial species colonizing the nasopharynx and lead to competitive exclusion of pneumococcus from the nasopharynx but not from the oral habitat. This explains the poor performance of nasopharyngeal samples for pneumococcal carriage among adults and indicates that in adults saliva more accurately represents the epidemiology of pneumococcal carriage than nasopharyngeal samples.
AB - Pneumococcal carriage studies have suggested that pneumococcal colonization in adults is largely limited to the oral cavity and oropharynx. In this study, we used total abundance-based β-diversity (dissimilarity) and β-diversity components to characterize age-related differences in pneumococcal serotype composition of respiratory samples. quantitative PCR (qPCR) was applied to detect pneumococcal serotypes in nasopharyngeal samples collected from 946 toddlers and 602 adults, saliva samples collected from a subset of 653 toddlers, and saliva and oropharyngeal samples collected from a subset of 318 adults. Bacterial culture rates from nasopharyngeal samples were used to characterize age-related differences in rates of colonizing bacteria. Dissimilarity in pneumococcal serotype composition was low among saliva and nasopharyngeal samples from children. In contrast, respiratory samples from adults exhibited high serotype dissimilarity, which predominantly consisted of abundance gradients and was associated with reduced nasopharyngeal colonization. Age-related serotype dissimilarity was high among nasopharyngeal samples and relatively low for saliva samples. Reduced nasopharyngeal colonization by pneumococcal serotypes coincided with significantly reduced
Moraxella catarrhalis and
Haemophilus influenzae and increased
Staphylococcus aureus nasopharyngeal colonization rates among adults. Findings from this study suggest that within-host environmental conditions, utilized in the upper airways by pneumococcus and other bacteria, undergo age-related changes. It may result in a host-driven ecological succession of bacterial species colonizing the nasopharynx and lead to competitive exclusion of pneumococcus from the nasopharynx but not from the oral habitat. This explains the poor performance of nasopharyngeal samples for pneumococcal carriage among adults and indicates that in adults saliva more accurately represents the epidemiology of pneumococcal carriage than nasopharyngeal samples.
KW - Streptococcus pneumoniae
KW - serotype
KW - carriage
KW - saliva
KW - nasopharynx
KW - dissimilarity
KW - age
U2 - 10.1093/ismeco/ycae002
DO - 10.1093/ismeco/ycae002
M3 - Article
C2 - 38390521
SN - 2730-6151
VL - 4
JO - ISME communications
JF - ISME communications
IS - 1
M1 - ycae002
ER -