The
collection of an estimated 100 trillion resident microorganisms of the human
body, termed the human microbiome, contributes to the physiology of human
health and disease including nutrition, immune function, metabolism, and
development. Recent studies suggest that the maternal microbiome changes
composition during gestation and may be associated with pre-term birth. Yet,
there remains a lack of detailed analyses regarding the structure, function,
and temporal dynamics of the maternal microbiome and how it contributes to
gestational outcome and fetal development.
In a
study published today in Genome Research, researchers performed detailed
whole-community sequencing on the microbial communities of three maternal body
sites (vagina, gut, and oral cavity) over the course of pregnancy from the
first trimester through delivery. Lead author David A. Relman of Stanford
University was, "surprised by the degree of diversity in the human
microbiome at the level of bacterial strains and by their temporal patterns
during the course of gestation." Of the nearly 1500 taxa identified,
community diversity differed among body sites and throughout the course of
pregnancy. The vagina was primarily dominated by one organism and taxonomic
diversity increased with gestational age. In the gut and oral cavity the
communities displayed high diversity throughout gestation, but the abundances
of gene families and predicted functions changed over time. Interestingly, the
microbiome variation in the oral cavity was associated with pregnancy
complications such as preeclampsia. Another important finding of this study was
the recovery of near-complete genomes of new strains of bacteria associated
with disease. Further characterization of these organisms may improve our
understanding of their role in human health.
While
this research is still at least several steps away from clinical applications,
Relman expects that this work will eventually lead to a more informed strategy
for targeted interventions before and during pregnancy that seek to reinforce
or restore key functions of the maternal microbiome in support of decreased
pregnancy risks and healthier fetal development.
See:
Daniela
S. Aliaga Goltsman, Christine L. Sun, Diana M. Proctor et al. Metagenomic
analysis with strain-level resolution reveals fine-scale variation in the human
pregnancy microbiome. Genome Research, 2018; DOI: 10.1101/gr.236000.118
Posted by Dr. Tim Sandle,
Pharmaceutical Microbiology
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