Description
A Continuum of the Microbiome in the Urogenital Tract and Factors Influencing the Microbial Composition
Chen Chen1,2, Fei Li1,2,3, Zirong Wang2, Juanjuan Dai4,5, Xiaolei Song1,3, Lilan Hao1,2, Liju Song1,2, Weixia Wei4,5, Xiaowei Zhang1,2, Liping Zeng4,5, Hui Du4,5, Huiru Tang4,5, Na Liu6, Huanming Yang1,9, Jian Wang1,9, Lise Madsen1,7,10, Susanne Brix1,11, Karsten Kristiansen1,7, Xun Xu2,3, Junhua Li1,2,8, Ruifang Wu4,5, Huijue Jia1,2,8,12
1BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518083, China; 2China National GeneBank, BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518120, China; 3BGI Education Center, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518083, China; 4Peking University Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen 518036, China; 5Shenzhen Key Laboratory on Technology for Early Diagnosis of Major Gynecological diseases, Shenzhen, PR China; 6BGI Genomics, BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518083, China; 7Laboratory of Genomics and Molecular Biomedicine, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 13, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark; 8Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Human Commensal Microorganisms and Health Research, BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518083, China; 9James D. Watson Institute of Genome Sciences, Hangzhou310000, China; 10Institute of Marine Research (IMR), Postboks 1870, Nordnes, N-5817, Bergen, Norway; 11Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Technical University of Denmark, Soltofts Plads, 2800 Kongens. Lyngby, Denmark; 12Macau University of Science and Technology, Taipa, Macau 999078, China
The vaginal microbiota is typically dominated by Lactobacilli, and the existence of a microbiota beyond the vagina is often shadowed by infections during the course of pregnancy. In a relatively large cohort of reproductive age women who were operated for conditions not known to involve infection, we demonstrate a continuum of microbiota till around the ovaries. Fungal and viral sequences were also detected in the upper reproductive tract. Microbial composition and potential functions in the urine of the same individuals showed similarity to those in the reproductive tract, and the urine could possibly be used to detect diseases in the upper reproductive tract.
In a healthy young cohort, the proportion of individuals with a non-Lactobacilli type is generally consistent with previous reports, with new subtypes. We further explore associations between the human genome and the microbiome (M-GWAS), and the possibility of restoring a healthy reproductive tract microbiome through oral probiotics.