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. 2020 Nov 18;8(11):1813.
doi: 10.3390/microorganisms8111813.

Next-Generation Sequencing as a Tool to Detect Vaginal Microbiota Disturbances during Pregnancy

Agnieszka Sroka-Oleksiak  1 , Tomasz Gosiewski  1 , Wojciech Pabian  2 , Artur Gurgul  3 , Przemysław Kapusta  4 , Agnieszka H Ludwig-Słomczyńska  4 , Paweł P Wołkow  4 , Monika Brzychczy-Włoch  1
Affiliations

Next-Generation Sequencing as a Tool to Detect Vaginal Microbiota Disturbances during Pregnancy

Agnieszka Sroka-Oleksiak et al. Microorganisms. .

Abstract

The physiological microbiota of the vagina is responsible for providing a protective barrier, but Some factors can disturb the balance in its composition. At that time, the amounts of the genus Lactobacillus decrease, which may lead to the development of infection and severe complications during pregnancy. The aim of the study was the analysis of the bacterial composition of the vagina in 32 Caucasian women at each trimester of pregnancy using the next-generation sequencing method and primers targeting V3-V4 regions. In the studied group, the dominant species were Lactobacillus iners, Lactobacillus gasseri, and Lactobacillusplantarum. Statistically significant differences in the quantitative composition between trimesters were observed in relation to Lactobacillus jensenii,Streptococcus agalactiae, Lactobacillus iners, Gardnerella spp. Out of the 32 patients, 20 demonstrated fluctuations within the genus Lactobacillus, and 9 of them, at different stages of pregnancy, exhibited the presence of potentially pathogenic microbiota, among others: Streptococcus agalactiae, Gardnerella spp., Atopobium vaginae, and Enterococcus faecalis. The composition of the vaginal microbiota during pregnancy was subject to partial changes over trimesters. Although in one-third of the studied patients, both the qualitative and quantitative composition of microbiota was relatively constant, in the remaining patients, physiological and potentially pathogenic fluctuations were distinguished.

Keywords: GBS; Gardnerella spp.; Lactobacillus spp.; Streptococcus agalactiae; next-generation sequencing; pregnant women; vaginal microbiota.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Alpha and beta diversity expressed as Shannon index (a) and PCoA Jensen-Shannon index (b).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Bacterial profiles for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd trimesters at the phylum level (L2).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Bacterial profiles for 1st, 2nd and 3rd trimesters at the genus level (L6).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Bacterial profiles for 1st, 2nd and 3rd trimesters at the species level (L7).
Figure 5
Figure 5
Bacterial profiles of selected patients, whose samples were clearly different from other pregnant women. For each sample and trimester, values of pH and Nugent score (N) are provided under the pie chart.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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