Microbiome And Multi'Omics In Preterm Birth: The Bacteria And Birth Study

Hominids and hominins serve as remarkable hosts to microbes, and we have co-evolved over the past 4.5 million years as highly plethoric communities. Human-associated microorganisms (the "microbiome") are present in numbers exceeding the quantities of human cells by at least 10-fold beginning in the neonatal period. The collective genome (the "metagenome") exceeds our human genome in terms of gene content by more than 150-fold. With respect to microbiota and preterm birth, it has generally assumed that the majority of intrauterine infections originate in the lower genital tract, with microbiota ascending into the otherwise sterile intrauterine environment to infect the placenta (preterm birth), fetal membranes (chorioamnionitis), umbilical cord (funisitis), and the fetus (sepsis). However, we and others have recently demonstrated that the vaginal and gut microbiome communities are distinctly structured in pregnancy, and the placenta is in fact not sterile, but rather harbors a low-abundance microbiome which is likely acquired through hematogenous transmission of the oral microbiome. Based on our prior studies and preliminary data, our central hypothesis is that a distinct and largely commensal resident microbiome in pregnancy renders risk for preterm birth. By utilizing our state-of-the-science technology and analysis tools in a longitudinal case-cohort of preterm birth subjects, we will be able to transform "discovery based" metagenomics and multi'omics science into readily translatable mechanistic studies at a previously unparalleled level.