{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,15]],"date-time":"2026-06-15T13:36:47Z","timestamp":1781530607345,"version":"3.54.1"},"reference-count":39,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,6,6]],"date-time":"2023-06-06T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1686009600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"European Commission within the Horizon 2020 activities","award":["855720"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["855720"]}]},{"name":"European Commission within the Horizon 2020 activities","award":["2016"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2016"]}]},{"name":"EIT Health InnoStars Awards Competition","award":["855720"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["855720"]}]},{"name":"EIT Health InnoStars Awards Competition","award":["2016"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2016"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Genes"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Infertility incidence is rising worldwide, with male infertility accounting for about 50% of cases. To date, several factors have been associated with male infertility; in particular, it has been suggested that semen microbiota may play a role. Here, we report the NGS-based analyses of 20 semen samples collected from men with (Case) and without (Control) semen alterations. Genomic DNA was extracted from each collected sample, and a specific PCR was carried out to amplify the V4-V6 regions of the 16S rRNA. Sequence reactions were carried out on the MiSeq and analyzed by specific bioinformatic tools. We found a reduced richness and evenness in the Case versus the Control group. Moreover, specific genera, the Mannheimia, the Escherichia_Shigella, and the Varibaculum, were significantly increased in the Case compared to the Control group. Finally, we highlighted a correlation between the microbial profile and semen hyperviscosity. Even if further studies are required on larger groups of subjects to confirm these findings and explore mechanistic hypotheses, our results confirm the correlation between semen features and seminal microbiota. These data, in turn, may open the way to the possible use of semen microbiota as an attractive target for developing novel strategies for infertility management.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/genes14061228","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,6,7]],"date-time":"2023-06-07T01:38:41Z","timestamp":1686101921000},"page":"1228","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":25,"title":["Metagenomics Reveals Specific Microbial Features in Males with Semen Alterations"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Iolanda","family":"Veneruso","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Molecular Medicine and Medical Biotechnologies, Federico II University, Via Sergio Pansini 5, 80131 Napoli, Italy"},{"name":"CEINGE-Biotecnologie Avanzate Franco Salvatore, Via G. Salvatore 486, 80145 Napoli, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Federica","family":"Cariati","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Public Health, Federico II University, Via Sergio Pansini 5, 80131 Napoli, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Carlo","family":"Alviggi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Public Health, Federico II University, Via Sergio Pansini 5, 80131 Napoli, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6894-9317","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lucio","family":"Pastore","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Molecular Medicine and Medical Biotechnologies, Federico II University, Via Sergio Pansini 5, 80131 Napoli, Italy"},{"name":"CEINGE-Biotecnologie Avanzate Franco Salvatore, Via G. Salvatore 486, 80145 Napoli, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2828-782X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rossella","family":"Tomaiuolo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Universit\u00e0 Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Via Olgettina 58, 20132 Milano, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9273-3698","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Valeria","family":"D\u2019Argenio","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"CEINGE-Biotecnologie Avanzate Franco Salvatore, Via G. Salvatore 486, 80145 Napoli, Italy"},{"name":"Department of Human Sciences and Quality of Life Promotion, San Raffaele Open University, Via di Val Cannuta 247, 00166 Roma, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,6,6]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"296","DOI":"10.5534\/wjmh.190055","article-title":"Male Oxidative Stress Infertility (MOSI): Proposed Terminology and Clinical Practice Guidelines for Management of Idiopathic Male Infertility","volume":"37","author":"Agarwal","year":"2019","journal-title":"World J. Men\u2019s Health"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"271","DOI":"10.1016\/j.beem.2010.08.006","article-title":"Male infertility: Pathogenesis and clinical diagnosis","volume":"25","author":"Krausz","year":"2011","journal-title":"Best Pract. Res. Clin. Endocrinol. 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