title: Unraveling the Dynamics of the Human Vaginal Microbiome.
abstract: FourLactobacillusspecies, namelyL. crispatus,L. iners,L. gasseri, andL. jensenii, commonly dominate the vaginal communities of most reproductive-age women. It is unclear why these particular species, and not others, are so prevalent. Historically, estrogen-induced glycogen production by the vaginal epithelium has been proffered as being key to supporting the proliferation of vaginal lactobacilli. However, the 'fly in the ointment' (that has been largely ignored) is that the species ofLactobacilluscommonly found in the human vagina cannot directly metabolize glycogen. It would appear that this riddle has been solved as studies have demonstrated that vaginal lactobacilli can metabolize the products of glycogen depolymerization by α-amylase, and fortunately, amylase activity is found in vaginal secretions. These amylases are presumed to be host-derived, but we suggest that other bacterial populations in vaginal communities could also be sources of amylase in addition to (or instead of) the host. Here we briefly review what is known about human vaginal bacterial communities and discuss how glycogen-derived resources and resource competition might shape the composition and structure of these communities.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Bioinformatics and Evolutionary Studies, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho, USA; The Bioinformatics and Computational Biology Graduate Program, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho, USA.
authors.forename: Kenetta L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Nunn
authors.affiliation: Institute for Bioinformatics and Evolutionary Studies, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho, USA; Department of Biological Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho, USA.
authors.forename: Larry J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Forney
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D006003:Glycogen / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007778:Lactobacillus / Q000378:metabolism; D064307:Microbiota / Q000502:physiology; D014621:Vagina / Q000382:microbiology*; D000516:alpha-Amylases / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D006003:Glycogen; D000516:alpha-Amylases
keywords: alpha-amylase; glycogen; microbial community; microbiome; vagina; vaginal microbiome