ArticleeLife2019
Extensive transmission of microbes along the gastrointestinal tract.
Article in eLife, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 395 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
395 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Coordinated oral-gut microbiota relocation in connective tissue diseases: a systematic review.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Pooled it
- Meta-analysis of 22,710 human microbiome metagenomes defines an oral-to-gut microbial enrichment score and associations with host health and disease.Nature communications · 2025Pooled it
- Evaluation of the association between periodontitis and inflammatory bowel disease: A systematic review and Meta-analysis.BMC gastroenterology · 2025Pooled it
- Saliva and blood miRNAs as complementary biomarkers for esophageal cancer detection.Frontiers in oncology · 2025Pooled it
- Relationship between oral microbiota and colorectal cancer: A systematic review.Journal of periodontal research · 2024Pooled it
- Increasing plant protein sources in the diet modulates gut microbiota and tryptophan metabolism in men at cardiometabolic risk.Gut microbes · 2026Trial
- Effect of dietary chickpea structures on the small intestine metabolome and microbiome: a randomised crossover trial.Nature communications · 2026Trial
- The Cognitive benefits of nitrate in patients with alcohol use disorder: unraveling the oral microbiome ectopic colonization pathway.Molecular psychiatry · 2026Trial
- The role of the oxytocinergic system in oral microbiome composition in children with autism: evidence from a randomized controlled trial of intranasal oxytocin.Translational psychiatry · 2026Trial
- Trial
- The protease code of the bacterial gut microbiota: ecological regulation, barrier disruption, and rewiring host defense and signaling.Gut microbes · 2026Review
- Metagenomic-driven predictive biosafety and contamination traceability in stem cell manufacturing: Translating outbreak genomics into regenerative medicine.Regenerative therapy · 2026Review
- The "oral-gut axis" transmission of microorganisms in colorectal cancer: Insights fromVirulence · 2026Review
- Fermented food microbiome: influence on oral and gut microbiota, and human health.Nature reviews. Microbiology · 2026Review
- The emerging role of microbiota in neuro-oncology.Nature reviews. Neurology · 2026Review
- Unique Oral Microbiota Signatures and Neurocognitive Function in Adolescents with and without Perinatally Acquired HIV.Research square · 2026Article
- Polymicrobial periodontal infection selectively alters the fecal microbiome in mice: Implications for the oral-gut microbial axis.Archives of oral biology · 2026Article
- The redefined identity ofJournal of bacteriology · 2026Review
- Beyond the Lungs: ICU Oral Care and Gut Resilience-A Hypothesis-Generating Narrative Review.Microorganisms · 2026Review
- From Mouth to Mind: Unraveling the Oral Microbiome's Role in Orofacial Pain and Neurodegeneration.Journal of clinical practice and research · 2026Review
335 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
17 authors.
Funding
Abstract
The gastrointestinal tract is abundantly colonized by microbes, yet the translocation of oral species to the intestine is considered a rare aberrant event, and a hallmark of disease. By studying salivary and fecal microbial strain populations of 310 species in 470 individuals from five countries, we found that transmission to, and subsequent colonization of, the large intestine by oral microbes is common and extensive among healthy individuals. We found evidence for a vast majority of oral species to be transferable, with increased levels of transmission in colorectal cancer and rheumatoid arthritis patients and, more generally, for species described as opportunistic pathogens. This establishes the oral cavity as an endogenous reservoir for gut microbial strains, and oral-fecal transmission as an important process that shapes the gastrointestinal microbiome in health and disease.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.