New Bacterial Species Found in Prostate Cancer Data

Researchers have discovered the genetic blueprints of 18 new bacterial species in data collected from prostate cancer patients, a finding that shows how much information can hide in material once dismissed as noise. The new bacterial species were recovered by a team at the University of East Anglia from DNA sequencing data gathered during studies of human DNA. Most of the new organisms came from the mouth, including new types of Porphyromonas, a genus previously linked to more aggressive prostate cancer, and Treponema. The work was published in the journal npj Biofilms and Microbiomes, and it is part of a wider programme of research by the Pan Prostate Cancer Group.

The team recovered 249 near-complete bacterial genomes from 194 prostate cancer patients, and 24 of those genomes did not match any species on record. By assembling those genomes from leftover sequencing data, the researchers could describe new organisms at no extra cost and without collecting a single extra sample. They gave formal provisional names to 16 of the new organisms, including Candidatus Porphyromonas leptis, Candidatus Treponema oralis and Candidatus Nanosyncoccus prostatocharitus. Whether these bacteria contribute to prostate cancer remains unknown, and the researchers are careful not to claim a causal link.

Why the new bacterial species discovery matters

The discovery matters because it provides a new catalogue of microbes present in cancer patients and a method for finding more of them in existing datasets. Detailed bacterial genomes can help scientists test whether particular microbes are linked to how cancer develops or progresses, and whether they might one day help with detection or treatment. The study also shows that sequencing data collected for one purpose can answer quite different questions when re-examined with new tools. For now, the work is at an early stage, but it opens a low-cost route to mapping the microbes that live alongside us.

Source: Medical Xpress