Occlusal types shape oral microbiome stomatotypes and metabolic landscapes: A multi-omics perspective on host-microbe interaction
Authors:Yufeng Duan1,a, Zheng Liu2,3,a, Wenting Lu1,a, Ning Zhao1, Lingjun Yuan1, Zhenxia Li1, Ting Zhou1, Shengzhao Xiao1, Dian Jing1, Xiaowen Zheng1, Wentao Shi4, Chao Liu1,*, Haixia Lu5,*, Qiang Feng6,* and Bing Fang1,*
doi: 10.15698/mic2026.06.879
Volume 13, pp. 237 to 249, published 15/06/2026.
1 Department of Orthodontics, Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital, College of Stomatology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine; National Center for Stomatology; National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases; Shanghai Key Laboratory of Stomatology, Shanghai 200125, China. 2 Center for Reproductive Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, 250012, China. 3 Senior Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100853, China. 4 Department of Clinical Research Center, Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital, College of Stomatology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200125, China. 5 Department of Preventive Dentistry, Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital, College of Stomatology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, National Center for Stomatology; National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases; Shanghai Key Laboratory of Stomatology, Shanghai 200125, China. 6 Department of Human Microbiome, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Cheeloo College of Medicine; Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Oral Tissue Regeneration; Shandong Engineering Laboratory for Dental Materials and Oral Tissue Regeneration Shandong University, Jinan 250012, Shandong, China.
a These authors contributed equally to this work.
Keywords:
occlusal type, oral microbiome, metabolomics, stomatotypes
Corresponding Author(s):
Conflict of interest statement:
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
Please cite this article as:
Yufeng Duan, Zheng Liu, Wenting Lu, Ning Zhao, Lingjun Yuan, Zhenxia Li, Ting Zhou, Shengzhao Xiao, Dian Jing, Xiaowen Zheng, Wentao Shi, Chao Liu, Haixia Lu, Qiang Feng, Bing Fang (2026). Occlusal types shape oral microbiome stomatotypes and metabolic landscapes: a multi-omics perspective on host-microbe interaction. Microbial Cell 13: 237-249. doi: 10.15698/mic2026.06.879
© 2026 Duan et al. This is an open-access article released under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license, which allows the unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are acknowledged.
Abstract:
Clinical studies have uncovered associations between malocclusions and bacteria-related oral diseases. However, which malocclusion drives alternations in the oral microbiome remains unclear. Here, we identified occlusal type (OT, a major malocclusion classification parameter) as a key host structural regulator of the oral microbiome composition and metabolite profiles in adolescents. Regarding microbial composition: Prevotella and Veillonella species enriched in the OT-I group, whereas Neisseria and Haemophilus species predominated in the OT-II group. These differential distributions and unique microbial associations contributed to the formation of two distinct oral microbiome clusters (“stomatotypes”). In terms of gene functions, the OT-II group exhibited enrichment in “Environmental information processing” (EIP) pathways, “Human Diseases” (HD) pathways, and virulence-associated genes including relA and cpsB/cdsA. Significant differences in metabolite profiles were also observed between groups. Multi-omics analysis revealed positive intra-group associations and negative associations betweengroups among representative oral microbes, functional pathways, and metabolites, with specific dipeptides identified as potential key microbemodulated metabolites. Our results revealed the pivotal role of OT in shaping the variations of the oral microbiome and metabolite, offering novel insights into how host anatomical structure influences oral microecology.