Bacterial communities in semen from men of infertile couples: metagenomic sequencing reveals relationships of seminal microbiota to semen quality

PLoS One. 2014 Oct 23;9(10):e110152. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0110152. eCollection 2014.

Abstract

Some previous studies have identified bacteria in semen as being a potential factor in male infertility. However, only few types of bacteria were taken into consideration while using PCR-based or culturing methods. Here we present an analysis approach using next-generation sequencing technology and bioinformatics analysis to investigate the associations between bacterial communities and semen quality. Ninety-six semen samples collected were examined for bacterial communities, measuring seven clinical criteria for semen quality (semen volume, sperm concentration, motility, Kruger's strict morphology, antisperm antibody (IgA), Atypical, and leukocytes). Computer-assisted semen analysis (CASA) was also performed. Results showed that the most abundant genera among all samples were Lactobacillus (19.9%), Pseudomonas (9.85%), Prevotella (8.51%) and Gardnerella (4.21%). The proportion of Lactobacillus and Gardnerella was significantly higher in the normal samples, while that of Prevotella was significantly higher in the low quality samples. Unsupervised clustering analysis demonstrated that the seminal bacterial communities were clustered into three main groups: Lactobacillus, Pseudomonas, and Prevotella predominant group. Remarkably, most normal samples (80.6%) were clustered in Lactobacillus predominant group. The analysis results showed seminal bacteria community types were highly associated with semen health. Lactobacillus might not only be a potential probiotic for semen quality maintenance, but also might be helpful in countering the negative influence of Prevotella and Pseudomonas. In this study, we investigated whole seminal bacterial communities and provided the most comprehensive analysis of the association between bacterial community and semen quality. The study significantly contributes to the current understanding of the etiology of male fertility.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Bacteria / genetics
  • Biodiversity
  • Biomarkers / metabolism
  • Case-Control Studies
  • Cluster Analysis
  • Demography
  • Humans
  • Infertility, Male / microbiology*
  • Male
  • Metagenomics*
  • Microbiota / genetics*
  • Middle Aged
  • Principal Component Analysis
  • Semen / microbiology*
  • Semen Analysis*
  • Sequence Analysis, DNA*
  • Species Specificity

Substances

  • Biomarkers

Grants and funding

Ministry of Science and Technology of the Republic of China financially supported this research under contract nos. NSC 101-2311-B-009-005-MY3, NSC 102-2627-B-009-001, NSC 103-2628-B-009 -001 -MY3 and NSC 103-2221-E-038-013-My2. This work was supported in part by the UST-UCSD International Center of Excellence in Advanced Bio-engineering sponsored by the Taiwan Ministry of Science and Technology I-RiCE Program under grant nos. NSC 102-2911-I-009-101, and Veterans General Hospitals and University System of Taiwan (VGHUST) Joint Research Program under grant no.VGHUST103-G5-1-2. This work was also partially supported by MOE ATU. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.