{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,18]],"date-time":"2026-08-18T01:27:27Z","timestamp":1787016447881,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":41,"publisher":"American Society for Microbiology","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,20]],"date-time":"2025-08-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1755648000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,20]],"date-time":"2025-08-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1755648000000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.asm.org\/non-commercial-tdm-license"}],"funder":[{"name":"New Frontiers in Research Fund","award":["NFRFE-2021-00522"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["NFRFE-2021-00522"]}]},{"name":"Emerging Infections and Pandemic Consortium"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.asm.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Appl Environ Microbiol"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,20]]},"abstract":"ABSTRACT<\/jats:title>\n \n \n \n The composition of the vaginal microbiome is closely tied to host health. Bacterial vaginosis (BV), caused by the overgrowth of specific anaerobes (e.g.,\n Gardnerella vaginalis<\/jats:italic>\n ), is associated with negative health outcomes. A vaginal microbiome dominated by\n Lactobacillus<\/jats:italic>\n species is thought to protect against BV. However, the role of\n Lactobacillus iners<\/jats:italic>\n is controversial, with evidence suggesting that some strains may not protect against BV while others do. To better characterize\n L. iners<\/jats:italic>\n strains, their interactions with vaginal bacteria and human cells need to be investigated\n in vitro<\/jats:italic>\n , but this has been impeded by the lack of liquid media that supports rapid\n L. iners<\/jats:italic>\n growth. We have developed three liquid media formulations for\n L. iners<\/jats:italic>\n growth: Serrador\u2019s\n Lactobacillus<\/jats:italic>\n -adapted Iscove\u2019s medium (SLIM), which supports robust\n L. iners<\/jats:italic>\n growth; a vaginally adapted version of SLIM (SLIM-V); and a chemically defined version (SLIM-CD). SLIM and SLIM-V improve\n L. iners<\/jats:italic>\n growth compared to previously published formulations and also support the growth of other vaginal bacteria, including\n Lactobacillus crispatus<\/jats:italic>\n ,\n Lactobacillus jensenii<\/jats:italic>\n ,\n Lactobacillus gasseri<\/jats:italic>\n , and\n Gardnerella vaginalis<\/jats:italic>\n . SLIM-CD leads to slower growth but may be useful for characterizing\n L. iners<\/jats:italic>\n nutrient requirements or metabolite production. Importantly, SLIM and SLIM-V also support the growth of human vaginal epithelial cells, providing a foundation for future co-culture studies. Here, we present the formulations of SLIM, SLIM-V, and SLIM-CD and compare the growth of bacterial strains and human cells in these media.\n <\/jats:p>\n \n IMPORTANCE<\/jats:title>\n \n Lactobacillus iners<\/jats:italic>\n is one of the most prevalent members of the vaginal microbiome, but whether it promotes health or leads to bacterial vaginosis is not well understood. We have developed media formulations that lead to improved\n L. iners<\/jats:italic>\n growth and support growth of other vaginal bacteria and human vaginal cells. This will allow for investigation of how\n L. iners<\/jats:italic>\n interacts with vaginal bacteria and the host, improving our understanding of its role in the vaginal microbiome.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1128\/aem.00183-25","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,8]],"date-time":"2025-07-08T09:00:11Z","timestamp":1751965211000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1128\/asmj-crossmark-policy-page","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["Practical media formulations for rapid growth of\n Lactobacillus iners<\/i>\n and other vaginal bacteria"],"prefix":"10.1128","volume":"91","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0001-1268-912X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Daniella","family":"Serrador","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/03dbr7087","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto","place":["Toronto, 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