The role of non-ureolytic bacteria in the formation of urinary stones: what remains to be discovered.

The letter discusses the role of non-ureolytic bacteria in the formation of urinary stones. The authors reference previous research that found non-ureolytic bacteria, particularly Escherichia coli (E. coli), to be the predominant bacteria in both urine and stone cultures of patients with infection stones and calcium oxalate (CaOx) stones. They suggest that further investigation is needed to understand the role of non-ureolytic bacteria in stone formation, and propose the use of advanced technologies such as 16s-rRNA sequencing and metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) to study the microbiota of kidney stone patients. The authors also mention the need to consider the effect of bacteria on stone formation through their impact on the host, and suggest exploring the role of bacteria from urine and the gut microbiome in the formation of urinary tract stones. [Extracted from the article]