Abstract
Despite their low taxonomic diversity, the human vaginal microbiome exhibits exceptional resilience and stability, challenging traditional ecological paradigms. This PhD project will explore how ecological processes, such as local selection and dispersal, shape the vaginal microbial communities composition at both the species and strain levels. By analyzing samples and associated data collected through citizen science, this study will focus on networks of 240 genetically and socially connected individuals, making it the first to investigate vaginal microbial networks. First, I will explore how genetic relatedness, social interactions, and selection pressures influence microbial community composition. Next, I will investigate the dispersal dynamics of vaginal microbial strains across individuals and along the gut-vagina axis. Additionally, I will explore the resilience and stability of these communities through in vitro and in vivo approaches, including synthetic communities, longer-term evolutionary experiments, and longitudinal sampling. Furthermore, an evolutionary clock will be optimized to distinguish mutation-driven adaptation from recombination events, allowing for a more accurate characterization of strain-sharing events and strain evolution. This research will provide valuable insights into the ecology and evolution of vaginal microbial communities, enhancing our understanding of their stability and resilience.
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