New Approaches for in vitro and in silico Modelling of the Oral Microbiome

口腔微生物群是一个开放的自然微生物系统，由700多个不同物种组成。细菌细胞在口腔环境中的不同组织表面定居，如舌头、牙床和牙齿。这个系统的组成是不断变化的，细菌物种之间发生了复杂和动态的相互作用。口腔微生物群及其内部的相互作用在牙齿携带和牙周病中发挥着重要作用，在这些疾病中，未经治疗的病例影响着全球数十亿人。个人护理行业(及其开发的产品)是一项全球数十亿英镑的业务，为全球数百万客户带来福祉，直接影响到人类微生物群。该项目的目标是开发新的体外和计算机建模方法，这些方法可以复制和使用，以了解、量化和预测支撑口腔微生物群定居的功能。这将允许确定导致口腔疾病的因素。具体地说，研究了选定的细菌病原体如何入侵健康的口腔微生物群，并为口腔生物失调和龋齿的发展铺平了道路。本课题的研究目标是：1.模拟细菌在体外对口腔微生物群的入侵。在选定的口腔模拟社区中分析这种病原体的入侵和由此产生的变化。根据自下而上的方法，建立一个数学模型，涉及从实验室收集的数据，以表征支撑口腔微生物群定植的因素。使用独立的高通量数据验证模型，说明进行的工作和产生的模型的重要性。这项研究项目将使人们能够更好地理解从健康的、非龋齿的微生物群到充满疾病的微生物群的发展过程。

The oral microbiome is an open, natural microbial system which consists of a huge variety of over 700 different species. Bacterial cells colonise different tissue surfaces within the oral environment, such as the tongue, gums and teeth. The composition of this system is in constant flux, with complex and dynamic interactions between bacterial species occurring. The oral microbiome and the interactions within play an important role in dental carries and periodontal disease, where untreated cases affect billions of people globally. The personal care industry (and its developed products), a global multibillion pound business that brings wellbeing to millions of customers across the globe, impinge directly on the human microbiome.The aim of this project is to develop new in vitro and in silico modelling approaches that can be replicated and used in order to understand, quantify and predict functions underpinning the colonisation in the oral microbiome. This would allow for the determination of factors that lead to oral diseases. Specifically, how a selected bacterial pathogen invades a healthy oral microbiome and paves the way for oral dysbiosis and dental caries to develop. The objectives of the research project are:1. Simulate the invasion of the oral microbiome by a bacterial pathogen in vitro.2. Analyse the invasion of this pathogen and the resulting alteration in a selected oral mock community.3. Develop a mathematical model following a bottom-up approach, involving data collected from the laboratory, in order to characterise the factors underpinning the colonisation of the oral microbiome.4. Validate the model using independent high-throughput data, present the importance of the work conducted and model produced.This research project will allow for a greater understanding of the progression from a healthy, non-caries microbiome to a disease ridden one.