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However, the extent to which host genetic factors influence variation in the vaginal microbiota is unclear. We used a biometrical genetic approach to determine whether host genetic factors contribute to inter-individual differences in taxa from a sample of 332 twins who self-identified as being of African (44 pairs) or European ancestry (122 pairs). <jats:italic>Lactobacillus crispatus<\/jats:italic>, a major determinant of vaginal health, was identified as heritable among European American women (narrow-sense heritability\u2009=\u200934.7%, P-value\u2009=\u20090.018). Heritability of <jats:italic>L. crispatus<\/jats:italic> is consistent with the reduced prevalence of adverse reproductive disorders, including bacterial vaginosis and preterm birth, among women of European ancestry.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1038\/s42003-021-02394-6","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,8,5]],"date-time":"2021-08-05T16:05:27Z","timestamp":1628179527000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":21,"title":["Vaginal microbiome Lactobacillus crispatus is heritable among European American women"],"prefix":"10.1038","volume":"4","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9348-8740","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Michelle L.","family":"Wright","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jennifer M.","family":"Fettweis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lindon J.","family":"Eaves","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Judy L.","family":"Silberg","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4887-659X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Michael C.","family":"Neale","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4327-0193","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Myrna G.","family":"Serrano","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nicole R.","family":"Jimenez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Elizabeth","family":"Prom-Wormley","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Philippe H.","family":"Girerd","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"suffix":"Jr.","given":"Joseph F.","family":"Borzelleca","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kimberly K.","family":"Jefferson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"suffix":"III","given":"Jerome F.","family":"Strauss","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4068-4286","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Timothy P.","family":"York","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4621-3987","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Gregory A.","family":"Buck","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,8,5]]},"reference":[{"key":"2394_CR1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/2049-2618-2-4","volume":"2","author":"R Romero","year":"2014","unstructured":"Romero, R. et al. 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