Periodontal Infectogenomics: Does the Host Genome Affect the Subgingival Microbiota?

Abstract Body: We now understand that probably around a third of the variance of periodontitis in the population is attributable to heritable factors. However, after more than 20 years and several small-scale and large-scale studies, the search for the genetic factors predisposing to periodontitis continues. What has clearly emerged is that this predisposition is, at least partially, mediated by the subgingival microbiota. In this context infectogenomics defines the effect of host genetic variants on influencing the growth of specific microbes and hence the composition of microbial biofilms. This talk will shed light into this topic and will describe the evidence gathered so far, with an eye to possible future applications.