title: Prevotella as a Hub for Vaginal Microbiota under the Influence of Host Genetics and Their Association with Obesity.
abstract: While the vaginal ecosystem is maintained through mutualistic relationships between the host and the vaginal bacteria, the effect of host genetics on the vaginal microbiota has not been well characterized. We examined the heritability of vaginal microbiota and its association with obesity in 542 Korean females, including 222 monozygotic and 56 dizygotic twins. The vaginal microbiota significantly varied depending on host menopausal status and bacterial vaginosis. Lactobacillus and Prevotella, whose relative abundances are strongly associated with bacterial vaginosis, were the most heritable bacteria among the beneficial and potentially pathogenic vaginal microbiota, respectively. Candidate gene analysis revealed an association between genetic variants of interleukin-5 and the abundance of Prevotella sp. Furthermore, host obesity significantly increased the diversity of the vaginal microbiota in association with Prevotella. Our results provide insight into the effect of host genetics on the vaginal microbiota and their association with both vaginal and non-vaginal health.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, Seoul National University, 1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 151-742, Korea.
authors.forename: Jiyeon
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Si
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, Seoul National University, 1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 151-742, Korea; Center for Human and Environmental Microbiome, Institute of Health and Environment, Seoul National University, 1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 151-742, Korea.
authors.forename: Hyun Ju
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: You
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, Seoul National University, 1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 151-742, Korea.
authors.forename: Junsun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health Science, School of Public Health, Seoul National University, 1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 151-742, Korea.
authors.forename: Joohon
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sung
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, Seoul National University, 1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 151-742, Korea; Center for Human and Environmental Microbiome, Institute of Health and Environment, Seoul National University, 1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 151-742, Korea; N-Bio, Seoul National University, 1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 151-742, Korea; KoBioLabs, Inc., 1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Bldg 220, Rm 630, Seoul 151-742, Korea. Electronic address: gko@snu.ac.kr.
authors.forename: GwangPyo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ko
mesh_terms: D064806:Dysbiosis / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015848:Interleukin-5 / Q000235:genetics*; D007778:Lactobacillus / Q000145:classification* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D064307:Microbiota / Q000235:genetics*; D009765:Obesity / Q000382:microbiology*; D018720:Prevotella / Q000145:classification* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D056910:Republic of Korea; D014621:Vagina / Q000382:microbiology*; D016387:Women's Health
chemical_list: C508599:IL5 protein, human; D015848:Interleukin-5
keywords: Lactobacillus; Prevotella; heritability; host genetics; obesity; twins; vaginal microbiome