Inter- Institutional Program for Maternal, Neonatal and Infant science: A translational approach- interdisciplinary Group for Advanced research on Birth outcome- DBT India Initiative (GARBH-Ini- phase I). Vaginal Microbiome Study (GARBH-Ini-phase I)

The incidence of preterm birth (PTB) in India is around 13%. Specific bacterial community or taxa living in the vaginal milieu of pregnant women is a potential risk factor for PTB and may play an important role in its pathophysiology. However, bacterial taxa associated with preterm birth vary across populations. Comparative analysis of vaginal microbiome composition in all the three trimesters and microbial genomic repertoires of women who enrolled in the GARBH-Ini pregnancy cohort to identify bacterial taxa associated with term and preterm birth in Indian women. Paired-end sequencing of V3-V4 region of 16S rRNA gene was performed using the microbiome DNA isolated from vaginal swabs collected during all the three trimesters from 38 pregnant Indian women who delivered spontaneous term (n=20) and preterm (n=18). Whole genome sequencing of bacterial species associated with birth outcomes was done by shotgun method. Lactobacillus species were grown anaerobically in the De Man, Rogosa and Sharpe (MRS) agar culture medium.