Caracterización del microbioma asociado a muestras de cálculo dental de un individuo del periodo Muisca Tardío

Abstract

The oral microbiome constitutes one of the most diverse ecosystems in the human body, with more than 1,200 bacterial species distributed across multiple oral niches, such as teeth, tongue, and gums, whose environmental conditions favor the formation of biofilms and complex microbial dynamics. Its study has gained relevance due to its impact on systemic health, including cardiovascular and periodontal diseases. The development of next-generation sequencing (NGS) techniques, especially whole metagenome shotgun sequencing (WMS), has made it possible to characterize microbial communities without the need for culture, identify functional genetic profiles, and establish databases such as HOMD, where 57% of oral bacteria have currently been characterized. Metagenomics has also opened new perspectives in the analysis of ancient DNA (aDNA), highlighting dental calculus as an exceptional archaeological substrate due to its ability to preserve microbiota, endogenous DNA, proteins, and dietary signals. However, the study of aDNA faces challenges associated with molecular fragmentation and contamination, which has driven the development of bioinformatic tools to authenticate ancient sequences and minimize false positives. Complementarily, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) has enabled the characterization of bacterial morphologies and the assessment of taphonomic damage. To date, studies on ancient oral microbiomes have been concentrated mainly in Europe and North America, with limited contributions in Latin America, where only Mexico, Chile, and Puerto Rico have developed research in this field. In Colombia, there are no studies on the ancient oral microbiome based on dental calculus, which creates a gap in knowledge about pre-Hispanic Andean communities. This project proposes an initial exploration in the Bogotá Savanna region, using metagenomics and aDNA analysis, together with histological techniques, to provide novel information on ancestral microbial diversity and its relationship with the health, diet, and environment of ancient populations.