Oral bacterium Neisseria flavescens promotes healthspan in worms and rejuvenates aged mice
An AI-guided screen identified the human oral commensal, which later improved molecular aging markers in rodent models.
Nature aging · Chen J et al. · Paper published 24 Sep 2026
In human profiling data, researchers identified the oral commensal bacterium Neisseria flavescens as a microbe associated with decelerated aging. Using a generative multi-modality framework named AURORA, the team built aging clocks to screen in silico for interventions that reduce biological age gaps. Computational perturbations linked higher Neisseria flavescens abundance to beneficial gut taxa, favorable physiology, and the synthesis of beneficial metabolites. The researchers isolated two strains and verified their metabolite production in the laboratory. Live Neisseria flavescens extended lifespan and healthspan in Caenorhabditis elegans. Additionally, feeding heat-killed bacteria to aged mice shifted their liver transcriptome, serum metabolome, and gut microbiome toward younger states.
Why it matters
The study highlights the oral microbiome as an overlooked contributor to systemic aging. It also demonstrates that generative artificial intelligence can pinpoint specific commensal microbes that influence host physiology.
Caveats
Functional longevity and tissue outcomes were tested only in nematode and mouse models, not humans. Furthermore, the mouse experiments evaluated heat-killed bacterial supplements rather than live colonization.
Written from the paper’s abstract, and every claim checked against it before publishing. Read the paper for the full methods and data.
The paper
Multi-modality profiling identifies Neisseria flavescens as a central geroprotective oral commensal in humans
Chen J, Ren Y, Zhou Y et al.
Nature aging · 24 Sep 2026 · Peer-reviewed
- Relevance
- Core geroscience
- News value
- Important
- Evidence
- Animals
- Status
- Peer-reviewed
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