Dataset Information

Unique roles of vaginal Megasphaera phylotypes in reproductive health.

ABSTRACT: The composition of the human vaginal microbiome has been extensively studied and is known to influence reproductive health. However, the functional roles of individual taxa and their contributions to negative health outcomes have yet to be well characterized. Here, we examine two vaginal bacterial taxa grouped within the genus Megasphaera that have been previously associated with bacterial vaginosis (BV) and pregnancy complications. Phylogenetic analyses support the classification of these taxa as two distinct species. These two phylotypes, Megasphaera phylotype 1 (MP1) and Megasphaera phylotype 2 (MP2), differ in genomic structure and metabolic potential, suggestive of differential roles within the vaginal environment. Further, these vaginal taxa show evidence of genome reduction and changes in DNA base composition, which may be common features of host dependence and/or adaptation to the vaginal environment. In a cohort of 3870 women, we observed that MP1 has a stronger positive association with bacterial vaginosis whereas MP2 was positively associated with trichomoniasis. MP1, in contrast to MP2 and other common BV-associated organisms, was not significantly excluded in pregnancy. In a cohort of 52 pregnant women, MP1 was both present and transcriptionally active in 75.4 % of vaginal samples. Conversely, MP2 was largely absent in the pregnant cohort. This study provides insight into the evolutionary history, genomic potential and predicted functional role of two clinically relevant vaginal microbial taxa.

SUBMITTER: Glascock AL

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8767330 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Unique roles of vaginal <i>Megasphaera</i> phylotypes in reproductive health.

Glascock Abigail L AL Jimenez Nicole R NR Boundy Sam S Koparde Vishal N VN Brooks J Paul JP Edwards David J DJ Strauss Iii Jerome F JF Jefferson Kimberly K KK Serrano Myrna G MG Buck Gregory A GA Fettweis Jennifer M JM

Microbial genomics 20211201 12

The composition of the human vaginal microbiome has been extensively studied and is known to influence reproductive health. However, the functional roles of individual taxa and their contributions to negative health outcomes have yet to be well characterized. Here, we examine two vaginal bacterial taxa grouped within the genus <i>Megasphaera</i> that have been previously associated with bacterial vaginosis (BV) and pregnancy complications. Phylogenetic analyses support the classification of thes ...[more]

PMID: 34898422

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Unique roles of vaginal Megasphaera phylotypes in reproductive health.

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Unique roles of vaginal <i>Megasphaera</i> phylotypes in reproductive health.

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Unique roles of vaginal Megasphaera phylotypes in reproductive health.

Publications

Unique roles of vaginal &lt;i&gt;Megasphaera&lt;/i&gt; phylotypes in reproductive health.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

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Unique roles of vaginal <i>Megasphaera</i> phylotypes in reproductive health.