DIVA

Vaginal microbiota (VM) is an essential component of women’s health throughout their lives. Yet, VM is less studied compared to the gut microbiota, which has drawn a lot of attention and generated a wealth of knowledge. Therefore, defining health and disease in the context of vaginal ecosystems remains an ongoing challenge.

Existing cross-sectional studies show that VM composition is associated with several factors including age, ethnicity, menstrual cycle, pregnancy, contraception, or sexual intercourse. Due to the highly transient nature of the human vaginal environment, metagenomics data from longitudinal follow-ups are required to improve our understanding of microbial interactions in the vaginal environment and of community state types (CST) replacements.