Complex species and strain ecology of the vaginal microbiome from pregnancy to postpartum and association with preterm birth.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Lactobacillus was described as a keystone bacterial taxon in the human vagina over 100 years ago. Using metagenomics, we and others have characterized lactobacilli and other vaginal taxa across health and disease states, including pregnancy. While shifts in community membership have been resolved at the genus/species level, strain dynamics remain poorly characterized.

Methods

We performed a metagenomic analysis of the complex ecology of the vaginal econiche during and after pregnancy in a large U.S. based longitudinal cohort of women who were initially sampled in the third trimester of pregnancy, then validated key findings in a second cohort of women initially sampled in the second trimester of pregnancy.

Findings

First, we resolved microbial specie

SUBMITTER: Pace RM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8491999 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature