Chemical and structural composition of black pigmented supragingival biofilm of bovines with periodontitis

Abstract

Bovine periodontitis is a multifactorial disease primarily associated with a potentially pathogenic microbiota housed in the oral biofilm of animals. Biofilms are organized structures, in which the constituents coexist in symbiosis, already described as a predisposing factor to periodontitis in other species. The objective of the present study was to characterize the structure and chemical aspects of the bovine black pigmented supragingival biofilm using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), respectively, and determine its relationship with bovine periodontitis. Eleven premolar teeth from different animals were evaluated; five non-pigmented samples and six samples with black pigmented biofilms were initially submitted to SEM, and three areas of these samples were selected for EDS. The structure of the pigmented biofilm was more complex and irregular because of a higher content of mineral elements. The semi-quantitative EDS data indicated an association of iron (p<0.014) and magnesium (p<0.001) with the occurrence of periodontitis, whereas carbon, phosphorus, calcium, manganese, sodium, and potassium were not associated with the disease. Carbon (p<0.039), manganese (p<0.007), and iron (p<0.015) were associated with pigmentation, whereas phosphorus, calcium, and magnesium were not associated with it. Spearman correlation test showed the relationships between calcium and phosphorus, and iron and silicon. The strong association of iron in the pigmented supragingival biofilm and with the occurrence of periodontitis suggests the presence of microorganisms that use this element in their metabolism and that are also associated with bovine periodontitis. This study suggests that the pigmented deposits in the crown of the teeth of cattle are an true biofilm with the deposition of iron, and it indicates that the presence of iron and magnesium in these formations may be involved in the metabolism of some microorganisms associated with the etiology of bovine periodontitis.

Antibiofilm properties of bioactive compounds from Actinomycetes against foodborne and fish pathogens

“…Silicon promotes biofilm formation on glass surfaces and was previously revealed to be extremely susceptible to pathogen colonization. Silicon may have been www.nature.com/scientificreports/ adsorbed onto the biofilm growing on the cover glass used in the experiment, and the silicon peak confirmed this adsorption 38 . Semi-quantitative EDS data revealed that specific elements might be important for biofilm formation.…”

“…Magnesium is necessary for bacterial metabolism, directly affecting cell multiplication rates of various species. Magnesium deficiency can cause the ribonucleoprotein complex to degrade and is linked to cell viability loss 38 . In a previous study, magnesium was found to increase Pseudomonas fluorescens bacterial adhesion, surface colonization, and biofilm depth but did not affect planktonic cell growth 39 .…”

“…Present in a wide range of substrates, carbon is crucial because most pathogenic bacteria are heterotrophic and use carbon as an energy source 38 . Oxygen is also important, as the size and architecture of biofilms may be affected by oxygen availability.…”

Periodontitis in sheep in Pernambuco, Northeastern Brazil

“…The supragingival biofilm was observed in all affected sheep in both farms described here. This change is identified as one of the main factors associated with the development of periodontal lesions in ruminants (Dutra et al 2000, Saraiva et al 2019, Borsanelli et al 2021. The present study did not aim to identify bacteria present in the biofilms of affected sheep, but species of the genera Petrimonas, Porphyromonas, Prevotella, and Fusobacterium stand out among the predominant microorganisms in the gingival sulcus of sheep with periodontitis (Borsanelli et al 2017(Borsanelli et al , 2021, being similar to periodontitis in humans (Hajishengallis 2015).…”

Co‐occurrence of periodontal lesions and dental wear in incisor and masticatory teeth in two sheep flocks in Brazil

“…The eating habits and oral cavity pH of sheep are different from those of humans, resulting in a pigmented and adhered deposit on the tooth surface, consisting of a thin layer of mineralised biofilm with some incorporated pigments. 37 Saraiva et al 15 identified correlations between the presence of carbon, iron and manganese with pigmented supragingival biofilm in cattle and iron and magnesium with periodontitis. These results indicate that dental calculus may be associated with the onset of the disease, and iron deposited on the surface of the supragingival biofilm, as a form of dark pigmentation, may be due to the metabolism of microorganisms possibly involved in the etiopathogenesis of bovine periodontitis.…”