RT Journal Article
T1 Assessing the testicular sperm microbiome: a low-biomass site with abundant contamination.
A1 Molina, Nerea M
A1 Plaza-Díaz, Julio
A1 Vilchez-Vargas, Ramiro
A1 Sola-Leyva, Alberto
A1 Vargas, Eva
A1 Mendoza-Tesarik, Raquel
A1 Galán-Lázaro, Maribel
A1 Mendoza-Ladrón de Guevara, Nicolás
A1 Tesarik, Jan
A1 Altmäe, Signe
K1 Male infertility
K1 Microbiome
K1 Microbiota
K1 Semen
K1 Sperm
AB The semen harbours a diverse range of microorganisms. The origin of the seminal microbes, however, has not yet been established. Do testicular spermatozoa harbour microbes and could they potentially contribute to the seminal microbiome composition? The study included 24 samples, comprising a total of 307 testicular maturing spermatozoa. A high-throughput sequencing method targeting V3 and V4 regions of 16S rRNA gene was applied. A series of negative controls together with stringent in-silico decontamination methods were analysed. Between 50 and 70% of all the detected bacterial reads accounted for contamination in the testicular sperm samples. After stringent decontamination, Blautia (P = 0.04), Cellulosibacter (P = 0.02), Clostridium XIVa (P = 0.01), Clostridium XIVb (P = 0.04), Clostridium XVIII (P = 0.02), Collinsella (P = 0.005), Prevotella (P = 0.04), Prolixibacter (P = 0.02), Robinsoniella (P = 0.04), and Wandonia (P = 0.04) genera demonstrated statistically significant abundance among immature spermatozoa. Our results indicate that the human testicle harbours potential bacterial signature, though in a low-biomass, and could contribute to the seminal microbiome composition. Further, applying stringent decontamination methods is crucial for analysing microbiome in low-biomass site.
YR 2021
FD 2021-06-29
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10668/28001
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10668/28001
LA en
DS RISalud
RD Apr 18, 2025