Overview: Oral members of genus Corynebacterium (C. matruchotii and C. durum) are prominent in dental plaque, where they make up 5 to 9% of the community; they are a minor component (<0.5%) of the community at other sites in the healthy mouth. Other corynebacteria are abundant in the skin microbiome and are included in eHOMD for their potential importance in the nasal microbiome.

Ecological role/importance in health and disease: C. matruchotii is not among the earliest colonizers of the tooth surface but enters the dental plaque biofilm after about 24 hours of biofilm growth and maturation (Mark Welch et al. 2016). The membranes of C. matruchotii nucleate the precipitation of calcium from saliva (van Dijk et al. 1998), which may contribute to the observation that dental plaque that is rich in filaments forms calculus more readily than does plaque rich in cocci (Friskopp & Hammarström 1980). Corynebacterium spp. are the foundational taxa in hedgehog structures (Mark Welch et al. 2016), creating a spatial structure inhabited by other members of the plaque biofilm. Corynebacteria are occasionally reported as opportunistic pathogens in immunocompromised individuals.