Author:
Wang HanChen,Yang Gui Xiang,Hu Yuxiang,Lam Patricia,Sangha Karan,Siciliano Dawn,Swenerton Anne,Miller Ruth,Tilley Peter,Von Dadelszen Peter,Kalyan Shirin,Tang Patrick,Patel Millan S.
Abstract
AbstractAs metagenomic approaches for detecting infectious agents have improved, each tissue that was once thought to be sterile has been found to harbor a variety of microorganisms. Controversy still exists over the status of amniotic fluid, which is part of an immunologically privileged zone that is required to prevent maternal immune system rejection of the fetus. Due to this privilege, the exclusion of microbes has been proposed to be mandatory, leading to the sterile womb hypothesis. Since nucleic acid yields from amniotic fluid are very low, contaminating nucleic acid found in water, reagents and the laboratory environment frequently confound attempts to address this hypothesis. Here we present metagenomic criteria for microorganism detection and a metagenomic method able to be performed with small volumes of starting material, while controlling for exogenous contamination, to circumvent these and other pitfalls. We use this method to show that human mid-gestational amniotic fluid has no detectable virome or microbiome, supporting the sterile womb hypothesis.
Funder
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
BC Children’s Hospital Foundation Telethon
Circle of Care
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Cited by
11 articles.
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