Genomic analysis identifies association of Fusobacterium with colorectal carcinoma

  1. Matthew Meyerson1,2,3,9
  1. 1Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA;
  2. 2Department of Pathology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA;
  3. 3Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA;
  4. 4Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA;
  5. 5Department of Medical Oncology, Vall d'Hebron University Hospital, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08035 Barcelona, Spain;
  6. 6Departments of Pathology, Immunology, and Laboratory Medicine, University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, Florida 32610, USA;
  7. 7Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA;
  8. 8Department of Biostatistics, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA

    Abstract

    The tumor microenvironment of colorectal carcinoma is a complex community of genomically altered cancer cells, nonneoplastic cells, and a diverse collection of microorganisms. Each of these components may contribute to carcinogenesis; however, the role of the microbiota is the least well understood. We have characterized the composition of the microbiota in colorectal carcinoma using whole genome sequences from nine tumor/normal pairs. Fusobacterium sequences were enriched in carcinomas, confirmed by quantitative PCR and 16S rDNA sequence analysis of 95 carcinoma/normal DNA pairs, while the Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes phyla were depleted in tumors. Fusobacteria were also visualized within colorectal tumors using FISH. These findings reveal alterations in the colorectal cancer microbiota; however, the precise role of Fusobacteria in colorectal carcinoma pathogenesis requires further investigation.

    Footnotes

    • 9 Corresponding author.

      E-mail matthew_meyerson{at}dfci.harvard.edu.

    • [Supplemental material is available for this article.]

    • Article published online before print. Article, supplemental material, and publication date are at http://www.genome.org/cgi/doi/10.1101/gr.126573.111.

    • Received May 20, 2011.
    • Accepted July 28, 2011.
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