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Updated: Oct 30, 2025
Oral Biofilm Sampling for Microbiome Analysis in Healthy Children
Published on: December 31, 2017
Preterm Birth Is Correlated With Increased Oral Originated Microbiome in the Gut
Chunhua Yin1, Jingrui Chen1, Xuena Wu1
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, China.
Insights
Preterm birth is linked to gut microbiome changes, with more oral bacteria found in women delivering prematurely. This suggests a potential role for oral-to-gut bacteria in preterm birth pathogenesis.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Obstetrics
- Gastroenterology
Background:
- Preterm birth is a major cause of infant mortality and morbidity.
- Gut microbiome dysbiosis is associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes.
- The specific role of the gut microbiome in preterm birth is not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the gut microbiome composition in women experiencing threatened preterm labor.
- To compare the gut microbiome between women who delivered preterm and those who delivered at term.
Main Methods:
- Fecal samples were collected from 41 women (19 threatened preterm labor, 22 controls).
- 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing was used to analyze gut microbiome composition.
- Taxonomic biomarkers were annotated using the Human Oral Microbiome Database.
Main Results:
- Women with preterm birth exhibited distinct gut microbiome dysbiosis compared to term birth controls.
- Opportunistic pathogens, including oral bacteria like Porphyromonas, Streptococcus, Fusobacterium, and Veillonella, were enriched in the preterm group.
- Beneficial bacteria such as Coprococcus and Gemmiger were depleted in women who delivered preterm.
Conclusions:
- Altered gut microbiome composition, characterized by an increase in common oral bacteria, is associated with preterm birth.
- These findings suggest a potential link between oral-to-gut bacteria and the pathogenesis of preterm birth.
Background:
Preterm birth is one of the leading causes of perinatal morbidity and mortality. Gut microbiome dysbiosis is closely related to adverse pregnancy outcomes. However, the role of the gut microbiome in the pathogenesis of preterm birth remains poorly studied.
Method:
We collected fecal samples from 41 women (cases presenting with threatened preterm labor =19, 11 of which delivered preterm; gestational age-matched no-labor controls, all of which delivered at term = 22) were recruited for the study. We performed 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing to compare the composition of the gut microbiome in threatened preterm labor cases and controls and among women who delivered preterm and at term. By annotating taxonomic biomarkers with the Human Oral Microbiome Database, we observed an increased abundance of potential oral-to-gut bacteria in preterm patients.
Results:
Patients with preterm birth showed a distinct gut microbiome dysbiosis compared with those who delivered at term. Opportunistic pathogens, particularly Porphyromonas, Streptococcus, Fusobacterium, and Veillonella, were enriched, whereas Coprococcus and Gemmiger were markedly depleted in the preterm group. Most of the enriched bacteria were annotated oral bacteria using the Human Oral Microbiome Database. These potential oral-to-gut bacteria were correlated with clinical parameters that reflected maternal and fetal status.
Conclusions:
This study suggests that patients who deliver preterm demonstrate altered gut microbiome that may contain higher common oral bacteria.
