Daily Vaginal Microbiota Fluctuations Associated with Natural Hormonal Cycle, Contraceptives, Diet, and Exercise.

ABSTRACT: The microorganisms of the vaginal tract are critical for vaginal and reproductive health. However, the regulation of these microorganisms is not well understood. Therefore, we investigated whether different factors regulate the vaginal microbiota of healthy college-aged women (n = 26) with high temporal resolution by collecting daily self-administered vaginal swabs and using 16S rRNA sequencing for bacterial identification. As expected, vaginal microbiota clustered into five predefined community state types. Vaginal microbial diversity, stability, and Lactobacillus abundances were associated with the menstrual cycle and hormonal contraceptive use. Vaginal microbial diversity, as measured using the Shannon index, increased during menses (P < 0.001), while Lact

SUBMITTER: Song SD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7343982 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature