How Metagenomics is Helping Us Understand the Hidden World of Microbes in Our Eyes

Article Overview

Authors: Francisco Zamorano-Martín, Guillermo Chumaceiro, Pablo Navarro-Torres, Davide Borroni, Facundo Urbinati, Ángel Molina, Andreu Paytuví-Gallart, Carlos Rocha-de-Lossada

Affiliations:

• Departament of Ophthalmology, Hospital Universitario Virgen de las Nieves, Granada, Spain
• Department of Radiology and Physical Medicine, Ophthalmology and Otorhinolaryngology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaga, Malaga, Spain
• Granada Vision and Eye Research Team (VER), Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria ibs.GRANADA, Granada, Spain
• Sequentia Biotech SL, Barcelona, Spain
• Department of Ophthalmology, Riga Stradins University, Riga, Latvia
• Departament of Ophthalmology, Hospital Universitario Torrecárdenas, Almeria, Spain
• Qvision, Ophthalmology Department, VITHAS Almeria Hospital, Almeria, Spain
• Ophthalmology Department, VITHAS Malaga, Malaga, Spain
• Departament of Ophthalmology, Hospital Regional Universitario de Malaga, Malaga, Spain
• Departamento de Cirugía, Universidad de Sevilla, Área de Oftalmología, Sevilla, Spain

Publication journal: Microorganisms
Date of publication: 2024
Link: https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms12112298

There’s More to the Eye Than Meets the Eye

Our bodies are full of helpful microbes that live in places you’d never expect—including the surface of your eyes. This tiny ecosystem, the ocular surface microbiome, helps keep your eyes healthy and protected from harmful germs. But, for people who’ve lost an eye and use a prosthesis, things get a bit more complicated. The space where the prosthesis sits, also known as an anophthalmic socket, often becomes dry, irritated, or inflamed. Scientists believe changes in the local microbes might play a role, but it’s been hard to study—until now.

From DNA Data to Real Discovery

A recent study by Zamorano-Martín et al. set out to explore this idea by looking closely at the tiny community of microbes living on the surface of both the anophthalmic socket and the healthy eye of the same person. To do this, researchers used a powerful genetic tool called 16S rRNA metagenomic sequencing to identify which bacteria were present. And helping make sense of all this complex data? Sequentia Biotech’s advanced bioinformatics enabling technologies.

Sequentia Biotech’s metagenomics analysis expertise was a key player in this research. It helped turn vast amounts of DNA sequence data into a clear list of which microbes were present and in what amounts. Our state-of-the-art bioinformatics tools filtered out background noise, focusing only on the bacteria that showed up reliably in the samples. This allowed scientists to see real, meaningful patterns. These changes could be linked to the dryness and irritation many patients experience. While more research is needed to understand precisely how, it’s a promising step forward in understanding what’s really going on.

Why It Matters for Everyday Health

Metagenomics is changing the game in medical research. By analyzing complex DNA sequencing data, scientists have a much clearer picture of the microscopic communities that live in and on our bodies, including those in delicate, low-biomass areas like the eye. In places where balance is everything, like the ocular surface, this level of insight is crucial.

Filtering and organizing massive amounts of genetic data makes it possible to spot meaningful shifts in microbial communities, like the reduced presence of certain beneficial bacteria in prosthetic eye sockets. These insights are helping scientists ask more thoughtful questions about the causes of symptoms, moving beyond the old “one-size-fits-all” explanations.

Future studies will look at more patients, follow them over time, and even explore the roles of viruses and fungi, not just bacteria. With the help of metagenomics, scientists are getting closer to understanding how these tiny organisms affect our body, comfort, and quality of life.

Ultimately, it’s about seeing the unseen—and listening to what our microbiome is trying to tell us.

Reference:

Zamorano-Martín, F., Chumaceiro, G., Navarro-Torres, P., Davide Borroni, Urbinati, F., Molina, Á., Andreu Paytuví-Gallart, & Rocha-de-Lossada, C. (2024). A Comparative Analysis of the Ocular Microbiome: Insights into Healthy Eyes and Anophthalmic Sockets. Microorganisms, 12(11), 2298–2298.