Longitudinal study of vaginal and vulvar microbiomes during puberty. vaginal metagenome

A prospective longitudinal study was conducted to characterize the composition and dynamics of vaginal and vulvar microbiota of girls undergoing puberty. 31 girls between the ages of 10 and 12 years were enrolled and sampled on a quarterly basis for up to three years as they transitioned through puberty into menarche. We collected metadata including age, Tanner stages of breast and pubic development, menarcheal status, vaginal pH, Nugent score, race and ethnicity. Additionally, 24 mothers of a subset of the girls provided vaginal swabs on an annual basis. Genomic DNA was extracted from vaginal and vulvar swabs, and V1-V3 hypervariable regions of 16S rRNA genes were amplified using a degenerate 27F forward primer and barcoded 534R reverse primer. Sequences were obtained using a Roche 454 GS-FLX+ pyrosequencer. Our findings suggest the vaginal microbiota of girls are typically dominated by lactobacilli prior to menarche in the early stages of puberty; vaginal and vulvar microbiota are similar; and the vaginal microbiota of girls and their mothers are only occasionally similar.