Variation of the vaginal microbiome during and after pregnancy in Chinese women

Abstract

A more complete profiling of vaginal microbial communities and their variability enables a more accurate description of women microbiome. However, there is a distinct lack of information regarding the Chinese women. Composition of the vaginal microbiota during pregnancy and 6 weeks postpartum of 454 Chinese women thus was characterized in this study by sequencing V3-V4 regions of the 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA). It showed that the vaginal microbiome varied during pregnancy and postpartum in response to abortion history, hypertensive disorders (HBP), delivery mode and maternal age. Co-variation of 21 bacterial taxa, including Lactobacillus and two of its species, may account for the common characteristics of vaginal microbiome under different medical histories and pregnancy outcomes. On the contrary, discriminant bacteria were significantly different between premature rupture of membranes related preterm birth (PROM-PTB) and non-PROM related PTB, and community state type (CST) I without any predominant Lactobacillus species in microbiota was more prevalent during pregnancy in PROM-PTB, suggesting that specific bacteria could be considered to distinguish different types of PTB. Through adding the data from Chinese women, the study will enrich the knowledge of human microbiome and likewise contribute to a better understanding of the association between the vaginal microbiome and reproductive health.