{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,30]],"date-time":"2026-06-30T10:49:10Z","timestamp":1782816550461,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":50,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"13","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,30]],"date-time":"2026-06-30T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1782777600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Diagnostics"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a heterogeneous endocrine-metabolic disorder. Rotterdam-defined phenotypes may need adjunctive, non-invasive signals for research-level phenotypic stratification. Saliva deserves attention because it is easy to collect repeatedly, acceptable in outpatient settings, and may reflect oral-systemic inflammatory and endocrine-metabolic interactions. This study evaluated whether salivary qPCR signals for Lactobacillus, Prevotella, and Bifidobacterium differ across Rotterdam-defined PCOS phenotypes and controls, with emphasis on the exploratory relevance of Prevotella. Methods: This cross-sectional proof-of-concept study included 110 women: 87 with PCOS and 23 controls. PCOS phenotypes were classified according to the Rotterdam criteria. Salivary microbial targets were assessed using SYBR Green-based genus-specific qPCR. Available instrument-export spreadsheets were reviewed for standard-curve quality control. Because the available assay outputs did not support robust absolute quantification, inferential analyses used Cq-based microbial signals only. Lower Cq values indicate stronger target DNA signal. No universal bacterial 16S rRNA reference, exogenous spike-in, salivary flow correction, or fully validated copy-number conversion was available. Group differences were evaluated using non-parametric tests with Bonferroni-corrected post-hoc comparisons. ROC, regression, and correlation analyses were retained as hypothesis-generating analyses only. Results: Prevotella Cq values differed significantly across groups (p &lt; 0.001), with lower median Cq values in phenotypes A, B, and C than in phenotype D and controls. Lactobacillus Cq values did not differ significantly (p = 0.249). Bifidobacterium showed an overall group difference (p &lt; 0.001), but its pattern and assay performance were less consistent. Among women with PCOS, Prevotella Cq values were associated with Ferriman-Gallwey score and polycystic ovarian morphology. Conclusions: Salivary Prevotella showed the clearest exploratory genus-level qPCR signal across Rotterdam-defined PCOS phenotypes. The findings support further technical and clinical validation of saliva-based microbial profiling as a possible adjunct to conventional PCOS phenotyping. They do not validate Prevotella as a standalone diagnostic biomarker, do not define clinical cutoffs, and do not quantify absolute bacterial load.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/diagnostics16132041","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,30]],"date-time":"2026-06-30T10:01:17Z","timestamp":1782813677000},"page":"2041","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Salivary Prevotella qPCR Signal as an Exploratory Non-Invasive Adjunct for Rotterdam Phenotype Stratification in Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: A Proof-of-Concept Cross-Sectional Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0079-1394","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Arif","family":"Tunjungseto","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Doctoral Program of Medical Science, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya 60132, Indonesia"},{"name":"Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya 60132, Indonesia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2825-8057","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Oni As\u2019ad","family":"Hadi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Medical Program, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya 60132, Indonesia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Intan Winta","family":"Pratiwi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya 60132, Indonesia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Fakhriyah","family":"Iffatunnisa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya 60132, Indonesia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Fadhil","family":"Ahsan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hospital of W\u00fcrzburg, 97080 W\u00fcrzburg, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Budi","family":"Santoso","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya 60132, Indonesia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,30]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Rotterdam ESHRE\/ASRM-Sponsored PCOS Consensus Workshop Group (2004). 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