The Oral Microbiome Bank of China

The human microbiome project (HMP) promoted further understanding of human oral microbes. However, research on the human oral microbiota has not made as much progress as research on the gut microbiota. Currently, the causal relationship between the oral microbiota and oral diseases remains unclear, and little is known about the link between the oral microbiota and human systemic diseases. To further understand the contribution of the oral microbiota in oral diseases and systemic diseases, a Human Oral Microbiome Database (HOMD) was established in the US. The HOMD includes 619 taxa in 13 phyla, and most of the microorganisms are from American populations. Due to individual differences in the microbiome, the HOMD does not reflect the Chinese oral microbial status. Herein, we established a new oral microbiome database—the Oral Microbiome Bank of China (OMBC, http://www.sklod.org/ombc). Currently, the OMBC includes information on 289 bacterial strains and 720 clinical samples from the Chinese population, along with lab and clinical information. The OMBC is the first curated description of a Chinese-associated microbiome; it provides tools for use in investigating the role of the oral microbiome in health and diseases, and will give the community abundant data and strain information for future oral microbial studies.