Semen Microbiome Biogeography: An Analysis Based on a Chinese Population Study.

Area of Science:

• Microbiome Biogeography
• Ecological Biodiversity Studies

Background:

• Understanding human semen microbiome diversity is crucial for defining healthy flora and identifying changes linked to abnormal fertility.
• Inter-subject heterogeneity in semen microbiota is a key area of investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the scaling of human semen microbiome diversity across individuals using diversity-area relationship (DAR) analysis.
• To investigate if DAR parameters differ based on male fertility status.
• To develop unified DAR models for semen microbiome and introduce new metrics for diversity assessment.

Main Methods:

• Applied diversity-area relationship (DAR) analysis, an extension of species-area relationship (SAR) laws.
• Assessed microbial diversity in seminal fluid using metagenomic DNA sequencing and Hill numbers.
• Collected data from a cross-sectional study of a Chinese cohort with varying fertility statuses.

Main Results:

• No statistically significant differences in DAR parameters were found among healthy, subnormal, and abnormal semen microbiome groups.
• Unified DAR models were constructed by combining all groups.
• New metrics including maximal accrual diversity (MAD) and ratio of individual to population (RIP) diversity were developed.

Conclusions:

• Semen microbiome diversity scaling is consistent across individuals and not significantly affected by fertility status in the studied cohort.
• The developed DAR models and new metrics (MAD, RIP) provide valuable tools for quantifying and comparing microbiome diversity within and between populations.
• The proposed ratio of individual to population (RIP) diversity offers a novel approach for general biodiversity investigations.