Lack of evidence for microbiota in the placental and fetal tissues of rhesus macaques

The objective of this study was to determine if the fetal and placental tissues of rhesus macaques harbor viable bacterial communities. Fetal, placental, and uterine wall samples were obtained from cesarean deliveries without labor (~130/166 days gestation). The presence of viable bacteria in the fetal intestine and placenta was investigated through culture. The bacterial burden and profile of the placenta, umbilical cord, and fetal brain, heart, liver and colon, were determined through quantitative real-time PCR and DNA sequencing. These data were compared with those of the uterine wall, as well as to negative and positive technical controls.