Replication and Refinement of a Vaginal Microbial Signature of Preterm Birth

We conducted a longitudinal study based on weekly sampling of the vaginal microbiota during pregnancy. Analysis was based on 16S rDNA amplicon sequencing, and was performed on two study cohorts. One cohort consisted of 39 women (30 term, 9 preterm deliveries) at low risk for preterm birth enrolled at Stanford University; the other cohort consisted of 96 women (55 term, 41 preterm) at high-risk for preterm birth enrolled at the University of Alabama, Birmingham. A case-control study design was used to compare features of the microbiota in women who delivered preterm (cases) with those of women who delivered at term (controls).