Authors:Davide Borroni, Andreu Paytuví-Gallart, Walter Sanseverino, Carmen Gómez-Huertas, Paola Bonci, Vito Romano, Giuseppe Giannaccare, Miguel Rechichi, Alessandro Meduri, Giovanni William Oliverio, Carlos Rocha-de-Lossada

Institutions:

  • Department of Doctoral Studies, Riga Stradins University, LV-1007 Riga, Latvia
  • Eyemetagenomics Ltd., 71–75, Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9JQ, UK
  • Sequentia Biotech SL, Carrer del Dr. Trueta, 179, 08005 Barcelona, Spain
  • Department of Ophthalmology, Hospital Universitario Virgen de las Nieves, 18014 Granada, Spain
  • Ospedale Civile di Ravenna, Banca Delle Cornee Della Regione Emilia-Romagna, 48121 Ravenna, Italy
  • Department of Medical and Surgical Specialties, Radiological Specialties and Public Health, 9297 University of Brescia, ASST Spedali Civili, 25100 Brescia, Italy
  • Department of Ophthalmology, University Magna Graecia of Catanzaro, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy
  • Centro Polispecialistico Mediterraneo, 88050 Sellia Marina, Italy
  • Biomedical Science Department, Institute of Ophthalmology, University of Messina, Via Consolare Valeria, 98146 Messina, Italy
  • Department of Ophthalmology, Qvision (Vithas Almeria), 04120 Almería, Spain

Publication: International Journal of Molecular Sciences 

Date: September, 2022

Link: Exploring the Healthy Eye Microbiota Niche in a Multicenter Study

Abstract:

This study aims to explore and characterize healthy eye microbiota. Methods: Healthy subjects older than 18 years were selected for this descriptive cross-sectional study. Samples were collected with an eSwab with 1 mL of Liquid Amies Medium (Copan Brescia, Italy). Following DNA extraction, libraries preparation, and amplification, PCR products were purified and end-repaired for barcode ligation. Libraries were pooled to a final concentration of 26 pM. Template preparation was performed with Ion Chef according to Ion 510, Ion 520, and Ion 530 Kit-Chef protocol. Sequencing of the amplicon libraries was carried out on a 520 or 530 chip using the Ion Torrent S5 system (Thermo Fisher; Waltham, MA, USA). Raw reads were analyzed with GAIA (v 2.02). Results: Healthy eye microbiota is a low-diversity microbiome. The vast majority of the 137 analyzed samples were highly enriched with Staphylococcus, whereas only in a few of them, other genera such as Bacillus, Pseudomonas, and Corynebacterium predominate. We found an average of 88 genera with an average Shannon index of 0.65. Conclusion: We identified nine different ECSTs. A better understanding of healthy eye microbiota has the potential to improve disease diagnosis and personalized regimens to promote health.