Group B Streptococcus colonization induces Prevotella and Megasphaera abundance-featured vaginal microbiome compositional change in non-pregnant women

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have indicated that variations in the vaginal microbiome result in symptomatic conditions. Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is a significant neonatal pathogen and maternal vaginal colonization has been recognized as an important risk factor for neonatal disease. Therefore, it is important to discover the relationship between the composition of the vaginal microbiome and GBS colonization. This study explores the potential relationship between the composition of the vaginal microbiome and GBS colonization in non-pregnant Chinese women. METHODS: A total of 22 GBS-positive, non-pregnant women and 44 matched GBS-negative women were recruited for the current study. The composition of the vaginal microbiome was profiled by sequencing the 16S rRNA genes. The microbiome diversity and variation were then evaluated. RESULTS: The vaginal microbiome of the 66 subjects enrolled in the current study were compared and the results showed that GBS-positive women exhibited significant vaginal microbial differences compared with the GBS-negative women based on the analysis of similarities (r = 0.306, p < 0.01). The relative abundance of the bacterial genus Lactobacillus (p < 0.01) was significantly lower in the GBS-positive group, while the abundances of the bacterial genera Prevotella (p < 0.01), Megasphaera (p < 0.01), and Streptococcus (p < 0.01) were significantly higher in the GBS-positive group. DISCUSSION: The current study addressed significant variations across the communities of the vaginal microbiome in GBS-positive and GBS-negative women in a Chinese cohort, which paves the way for a larger cohort-based clinical validation study and the development of therapeutic probiotics in the future.