Identification of an intraocular microbiota
Yuhua Deng, Xiaofei Ge, Li Yan, Bin Zou, Xiaofeng Wen, Weirong Chen, Lin Lü, Meifen Zhang, Xiaomin Zhang, Chunmei Li, Chan Zhao, Xiaofeng Lin, Xiulan Zhang, Xinhua Huang, Xiaorong Li, Ming Jin, Guang-Hua Peng, Dongni Wang, Xun Wang, Weiyi Lai, Juanran Liang, Jing Jing Li, Qiaoxing Liang, Liu Yang, Qinfen Zhang, Yinyin Li, Ping Lü, Xiao Hu, Xifang Li, Xiuli Deng, Yü Liu, Yanli Zou, Shixin Guo, Tingting Chen, Yali Qin, Fuhua Yang, Miao Li, Wei Chen, Chi‐Chao Chan, Haotian Lin, Yizhi Liu, Richard Lee, Lai Wei
Abstract
The current dogma in ophthalmology and vision research presumes the intraocular environment to be sterile. However, recent evidence of intestinal bacterial translocation into the bloodstream and many other internal organs including the eyes, found in healthy and diseased animal models, suggests that the intraocular cavity may also be inhabited by a microbial community. Here, we tested intraocular samples from over 1000 human eyes. Using quantitative PCR, negative staining transmission electron microscopy, direct culture, and high-throughput sequencing technologies, we demonstrated the presence of intraocular bacteria. The possibility that the microbiome from these low-biomass communities could be a contamination from other tissues and reagents was carefully evaluated and excluded. We also provide preliminary evidence that a disease-specific microbial signature characterized the intraocular environment of patients with age-related macular degeneration and glaucoma, suggesting that either spontaneous or pathogenic bacterial translocation may be associated with these common sight-threatening conditions. Furthermore, we revealed the presence of an intraocular microbiome in normal eyes from non-human mammals and demonstrated that this varied across species (rat, rabbit, pig, and macaque) and was established after birth. These findings represent the first-ever evidence of intraocular microbiota in humans.