University of Maryland School of Medicine researchers discover that vaginal bacteria don’t always behave the same way

(Press-News.org) For decades, gynecological tests have relied on a simplified view of the vaginal microbiome, categorizing bacteria as either “good” or “bad.” New research from University of Maryland School of Medicine scientists challenges that assumption, revealing that bacteria of the same species can behave in fundamentally different ways, with important implications for women’s health.

Today, gynecological tests largely focus on detecting two groups of bacteria in the vaginal microbiome: Lactobacillus, generally associated with health, and Gardnerella, which has been linked to Bacterial Vaginosis (BV), increased risk of sexually transmitted diseases, and other adverse outcomes. New research identifies 25 distinct vaginal microbiome types, including multiple types dominated by Gardnerella that differ markedly from one another. The researchers developed two open-source tools—VIRGO2 and VISTA—that enable analysis of how different strains within the same species can perform distinct biological functions. This research provides a foundation for precision gynecological care to women. Baltimore, Feb. 5, 2026: In a new study published today in the journal mBio, researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) report that the long-standing view of the vaginal microbiome as either “optimal” or “non-optimal” based on a small number of bacterial species is overly simplistic. By analyzing vaginal microbiome data at unprecedented resolution, the team identified 25 distinct vaginal microbiome types and demonstrated that bacteria of the same species can differ substantially in their functional potential, thereby affecting how these microbes interact with the body.

Historically, vaginal health has often been described in terms of dominance by Lactobacillus species versus Gardnerella, the latter commonly associated with bacterial vaginosis and other adverse reproductive and urogenital outcomes. The new findings show that this classification does not fully capture the biological diversity of vaginal microbial communities.

“Our results show that it is not enough to ask which bacterial species are present, we need to understand what they are capable of doing, and what they are doing,” said Amanda Williams, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow at UMSOM’s Institute for Genome Sciences (IGS) Center for  Advanced Microbiome Research and Innovation made (CAMRI), and lead author on the study.  “We found that multiple vaginal microbiome types can be dominated by Gardnerella yet differ in their functional profiles and associations with inflammation and risk of adverse outcomes.”

Among the 25 microbiome types identified, six were dominated by Gardnerella. One of these showed functional and inflammatory profiles that more closely resembled microbiomes dominated by Lactobacillus, highlighting the biological heterogeneity within what is often treated as a single category.

To enable this level of analysis, the CAMRI team developed and applied two open-source computational tools. VIRGO2 is an expanded gene catalog comprising approximately 1.7 million genes from bacteria, fungi, and viruses found in the vaginal microbiome, built using samples collected from women across five continents. A recent paper in Nature Communications, led by Michael France, PhD, Research Associate at IGS and CAMRI, explains VIRGO2 in more detail. VISTA (Vaginal Interference of Subspecies and Typing Algorithm) complements this resource by defining metagenomic community state types (mgCST), allowing researchers to examine vaginal microbiomes at the strain-community level rather than relying solely on species identification.

“These tools allow us to study how vaginal microbiomes differ in their functional potential and how those differences may relate to host biology,” said senior author Johanna Holm, PhD, a scientist at IGS and CAMRI, and Assistant Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at UMSOM. “While this work does not immediately change clinical practice, it provides a framework for future studies aimed at improving risk stratification, diagnostics, and treatment strategies in women’s health.”

The researchers emphasize that further research will be needed to determine how these microbiome types relate to clinical outcomes and how such information might eventually inform more tailored approaches to diagnostics and treatment.

About the Institute for Genome Sciences

The Institute for Genome Sciences' (IGS) has been part of the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) since 2007. IGS scientists work in diverse areas, applying genomics and systems biology approaches to better understand health issues in premature infants, women, and transgender people; to improve vaccine development; to study evolutionary biology; and to understand cancer, parasitic, fungal, and infectious diseases, as well as identifying the underpinnings of aging, brain development, addiction, and mental health. IGS also remains at the forefront of high-throughput genomic technologies and bioinformatics analyses through its core facility, Maryland Genomics which provides researchers around the world with cutting-edge, collaborative, and cost-effective sequencing and analysis. 

About the University of Maryland School of Medicine

The University of Maryland School of Medicine, established in 1807 as the first public medical school in the U.S., continues today as one of the fastest growing, top-tier biomedical research enterprises in the world. The School has nearly $500 million total research funding, 46 departments, centers, and institutes, more than 2,200 student trainees and over 3,000 faculty members, including notable members of the National Academy of Medicine. As the largest public medical school in the DC/MD/VA region, faculty-physicians are working to help patients manage chronic diseases like obesity, cancer, heart disease and addiction, while also working on cutting-edge research to address the most critical generational health challenges. In 2024, the School ranked #12 among public medical schools and #27 among all medical schools for R&D expenditures by the National Science Foundation. With a $1.3 billion total operating budget, the School partners with the University of Maryland Medical Center to serve nearly 2 million patients annually. The School's global reach extends around the world with research and treatment facilities in 33 countries.  In Maryland, the School of Medicine is spearheading new initiatives in AI and health computing and partnering with the University of Maryland BioPark to develop new medical technologies and bioengineering ventures. For more information, visit medschool.umaryland.edu.

 

 

 

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