The bacterial composition of the vaginal microbiome is thought to be related to health
and disease states of women. This microbiome is particularly dynamic, with compositional
changes related to pregnancy, menstruation, and disease states such as bacterial vaginosis.
In order to understand these dynamics and their impact on health and disease, ecological
theories have been introduced to study the complex interactions between the many taxa
in the vaginal bacterial ecosystem. The goal of this review is to introduce the ecological
principles that are used in the study of the vaginal microbiome and its dynamics,
and to review the application of ecology to vaginal microbial communities with respect
to health and disease. Although applications of vaginal microbiome analysis and modulation
have not yet been introduced into the routine clinical setting, a deeper understanding
of its dynamics has the potential to facilitate development of future practices, for
example in the context of postmenopausal vaginal symptoms, stratifying risk for obstetric
complications, and controlling sexually transmitted infections.
Key words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: November 14, 2018
Accepted:
November 8,
2018
Received in revised form:
November 5,
2018
Received:
August 16,
2018
Footnotes
S.G. and G.G. contributed equally to this work.
The authors report no conflict of interest.
Identification
Copyright
© 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
