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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Systems Microbiology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1401326
This article is part of the Research Topic Genome-Scale Metabolic Models for Exploring Microbial Physiology and Metabolism View all 5 articles

Seminal Plasma Microbiomes, Sperm Parameters, and Cryopreservation in a Healthy Fertile Population

Provisionally accepted
Longlong Fu Longlong Fu 1,2*Yuanlei Lou Yuanlei Lou 3*Ying Guo Ying Guo 2*， Fang Zhou ， Fang Zhou 1*Jing MA Jing MA 1*Shusong Wang Shusong Wang 4*Yiqun Gu Yiqun Gu 2*， B. Fu ， B. Fu 3*WenHong Lu WenHong Lu 1*
  • 1 Department of Cell Biology, National Research Institute of Family Planning, Beijing, China
  • 2 National Research Institute for Family Planning, Beijing, China
  • 3 The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, China
  • 4 Hebei Reproductive Health Hospital, SHIjiazhuang, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Recent advances in microbiome research have revealed the presence of diverse microbial communities in human tissues previously thought to be sterile. The present study delves into the emerging field of seminal plasma microbiomics, examining the relationship between semen microbes and semen parameters and postfreezing tolerance.The study involved a cohort of healthy fertility males and microbial genome analysis using 16S rRNA to characterize the microbial diversity of seminal plasma.Microbial diversity analysis identified unique amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) and genera dominant in seminal plasma. Spearman's correlation coefficient was used to assess the relationship between flora and semen parameters. A paired t-test was used to compare the changes in microbiome expression in seminal plasma before and after cryo-resuscitation.The relevant results show that the top five phyla in terms of abundance of seminal plasma microbiome were Firmicutes, Bacteroidota, Proteobacteria, Actinobacteriota, and Campylobacterota. Spearman correlation analysis highlighted the association between specific microbial species and semen parameters, between Porphyromonas_asaccharolytica and sperm concentration. Microbial changed significantly after cryo-resuscitation, affecting taxonomic units such as Campylobacter and Muribaculaceae, and KEGG enrichment analyses, suggesting that metabolic pathways are associated with sperm freezing. Eubacterium_coprostanoligenes and Eptoniphilus_duerdenii exhibited a potential impact, whileOrynebacterium_tuberculostearicum demonstrated a positive correlation with the recovery rate of progressive motile sperm.The semen of normal fertile individuals contains a microflora component that is closely related to semen quality, including the sperm's ability to withstand freezing.

    Keywords: Seminal Plasma Microbiomes, Fertile, sperm parameters, Sperm cryopreservation and thawing, Fertility

    Received: 15 Mar 2024; Accepted: 09 Sep 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Fu, Lou, Guo, Fang Zhou, MA, Wang, Gu, Fu and Lu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Longlong Fu, Department of Cell Biology, National Research Institute of Family Planning, Beijing, China
    Yuanlei Lou, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, 330006, Jiangxi Province, China
    Ying Guo, National Research Institute for Family Planning, Beijing, China
    ， Fang Zhou, Department of Cell Biology, National Research Institute of Family Planning, Beijing, China
    Jing MA, Department of Cell Biology, National Research Institute of Family Planning, Beijing, China
    Shusong Wang, Hebei Reproductive Health Hospital, SHIjiazhuang, China
    Yiqun Gu, National Research Institute for Family Planning, Beijing, China
    ， B. Fu, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, 330006, Jiangxi Province, China
    WenHong Lu, Department of Cell Biology, National Research Institute of Family Planning, Beijing, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.