In this month’s Microbiology Time, features include the oral microbiome as a tool for forensic microbiology, a study on HPV self-sampling acceptability among Spanish immigrant populations, and a new automated method for bacterial suspension preparation and plate streaking for antimicrobial susceptibility testing.
Oral microbiome: a geographic fingerprint
The oral microbiome and its potential use in determining a person’s geographic origin is the focus of the first paper. Using high-throughput sequencing and machine learning on samples from individuals in six countries, UK researchers identified distinct microbial profiles linked to different regions, supporting the concept of a microbiome geographic fingerprint. A longitudinal study of Nigerian migrants revealed initial changes in their oral microbiome after moving, followed by a return to a microbial profile similar to that of Nigerian residents after six months. The findings suggest that the oral microbiome has promising forensic analysis potential for geographic origin identification and for understanding migration patterns through forensic microbiology approaches.
Increasing HPV screening participation through education
The second study, by Lurgain and colleagues, analyzed cervical cancer screening barriers and attitudes toward HPV self-sampling among Moroccan and Pakistani immigrant women in Catalonia, Spain. Using focus groups, interviews, and a home trial of two self-sampling devices, researchers found limited knowledge about screening and misconceptions about HPV risk. Although over half of the participants tested at least one device, most preferred clinician-based screening and expressed doubts about performing the test correctly and trusting the results. The authors conclude that culturally tailored HPV screening education, peer outreach, and strategies to build awareness and confidence in self-sampling are needed before implementing HPV self-sampling programs for these communities.
Automating Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing
The last study assessed the accuracy of an automated AST system for antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) in clinical microbiology laboratories. Belgian researchers compared automated bacterial suspension preparation using Colibrì® and automated plate streaking with WASP® against the standard manual disk diffusion method across 201 diverse bacterial strains, including both Gram-positive and Gram-negative species with known resistance mechanisms. Overall categorical agreement between the two approaches was high, with low rates of minor, major, and very major errors. The findings suggest that the combined Colibrì® and WASP® system matches the accuracy of the manual reference method while reducing hands-on time, minimizing human error, and improving standardization of pre-analytical procedures in antimicrobial susceptibility testing within clinical microbiology laboratories.
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