Dental calculus as a proxy for animal microbiomes

The field of dental calculus research has exploded in recent years, predominantly due to the multitude of studies related to human genomes and oral pathogens. Despite having a subset of these studies devoted to non-human primates, little progress has been made in the distribution of oral pathogens across domestic and wild animal populations. This overlooked avenue of research is particularly important at present when many animal populations with the potentiality for zoonotic transmission continue to reside in close proximity to human groups due to reasons such as deforestation and climatic impacts on resource availability. Here, we analyze all previously available published oral microbiome data recovered from the skeletal remains of animals, all of which belong to the Mammalia class. Our genus level results emphasize the tremendous diversity of oral ecologies across mammals in spite of the clustering based primarily on host species. We also discuss the caveats and flaws in analyzing ancient animal oral microbiomes at the species level of classification. Lastly, we assess the benefits, challenges, and gaps in the current knowledge of dental calculus research within animals and postulate the future of the field as a whole.