title: The vaginal microbiome during pregnancy and the postpartum period in a European population.
abstract: The composition and structure of the pregnancy vaginal microbiome may influence susceptibility to adverse pregnancy outcomes. Studies on the pregnant vaginal microbiome have largely been limited to Northern American populations. Using MiSeq sequencing of 16S rRNA gene amplicons, we characterised the vaginal microbiota of a mixed British cohort of women (n = 42) who experienced uncomplicated term delivery and who were sampled longitudinally throughout pregnancy (8-12, 20-22, 28-30 and 34-36 weeks gestation) and 6 weeks postpartum. We show that vaginal microbiome composition dramatically changes postpartum to become less Lactobacillus spp. dominant with increased alpha-diversity irrespective of the community structure during pregnancy and independent of ethnicity. While the pregnancy vaginal microbiome was characteristically dominated by Lactobacillus spp. and low alpha-diversity, unlike Northern American populations, a significant number of pregnant women this British population had a L. jensenii-dominated microbiome characterised by low alpha-diversity. L. jensenii was predominantly observed in women of Asian and Caucasian ethnicity whereas L. gasseri was absent in samples from Black women. This study reveals new insights into biogeographical and ethnic effects upon the pregnancy and postpartum vaginal microbiome and has important implications for future studies exploring relationships between the vaginal microbiome, host health and pregnancy outcomes.
authors.affiliation: Imperial College Parturition Research Group, Division of the Institute of Reproduction and Developmental Biology, Imperial College London, UK.
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: MacIntyre
authors.affiliation: Imperial College Parturition Research Group, Division of the Institute of Reproduction and Developmental Biology, Imperial College London, UK.
authors.forename: Manju
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chandiramani
authors.affiliation: Imperial College Parturition Research Group, Division of the Institute of Reproduction and Developmental Biology, Imperial College London, UK.
authors.forename: Yun S
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Imperial College Parturition Research Group, Division of the Institute of Reproduction and Developmental Biology, Imperial College London, UK.
authors.forename: Lindsay
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kindinger
authors.affiliation: School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, UK.
authors.forename: Ann
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.affiliation: Division of Cancer, Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, UK.
authors.forename: Nicos
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Angelopoulos
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology &Biostatistics, Medicine, Imperial College London, UK.
authors.forename: Benjamin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lehne
authors.affiliation: Imperial College Parturition Research Group, Division of the Institute of Reproduction and Developmental Biology, Imperial College London, UK.
authors.forename: Shankari
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Arulkumaran
authors.affiliation: Imperial College Parturition Research Group, Division of the Institute of Reproduction and Developmental Biology, Imperial College London, UK.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.affiliation: St Mary's Hospital, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London, UK.
authors.forename: Tiong Ghee
authors.initials: TG
authors.lastname: Teoh
authors.affiliation: Section of Biomolecular Medicine, Division of Computational Systems Medicine, Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, UK.
authors.forename: Elaine
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Holmes
authors.affiliation: 1] Section of Biomolecular Medicine, Division of Computational Systems Medicine, Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, UK [2] MRC NIHR National Phenome Centre, Division of Computational Systems Medicine, Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, UK.
authors.forename: Jeremy K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Nicoholson
authors.affiliation: 1] School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, UK [2] Section of Biomolecular Medicine, Division of Computational Systems Medicine, Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, UK.
authors.forename: Julian R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Marchesi
authors.affiliation: Imperial College Parturition Research Group, Division of the Institute of Reproduction and Developmental Biology, Imperial College London, UK.
authors.forename: Phillip R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Bennett
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics; D044822:Biodiversity; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D054892:Metagenome; D064307:Microbiota; D049590:Postpartum Period; D011247:Pregnancy; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D006113:United Kingdom; D014621:Vagina / Q000382:microbiology*; D044465:White People
chemical_list: D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S