{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,9]],"date-time":"2026-09-09T15:45:31Z","timestamp":1788968731481,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":126,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,6,1]],"date-time":"2023-06-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1685577600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Life"],"abstract":"<jats:p>We do not seem to be the only owner of our body; it houses a large population of microorganisms. Through countless years of coevolution, microbes and hosts have developed complex relationships. In the past few years, the impact of microbial communities on their host has received significant attention. Advanced molecular sequencing techniques have revealed a remarkable diversity of the organ-specific microbiota populations, including in the reproductive tract. Currently, the goal of researchers has shifted to generate and perceive the molecular data of those hidden travelers of our body and harness them for the betterment of human health. Recently, microbial communities of the lower and upper reproductive tract and their correlation with the implication in reproductive health and disease have been extensively studied. Many intrinsic and extrinsic factors influences the female reproductive tract microbiota (FRTM) that directly affects the reproductive health. It is now believed that FRTM dominated by Lactobacilli may play an essential role in obstetric health beyond the woman\u2019s intimate comfort and well-being. Women with altered microbiota may face numerous health-related issues. Altered microbiota can be manipulated and restored to their original shape to re-establish normal reproductive health. The aim of the present review is to summarize the FRTM functional aspects that influence reproductive health.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/life13061313","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,6,2]],"date-time":"2023-06-02T01:33:54Z","timestamp":1685669634000},"page":"1313","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":30,"title":["The Female Reproductive Tract Microbiota: Friends and Foe"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7073-9618","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lokesh","family":"Kumar","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Genus Breeding India Pvt Ltd., Pune 411005, Maharashtra, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Monika","family":"Dwivedi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technology, Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra 835215, Jharkhand, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Natasha","family":"Jain","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biotechnology, Chaudhary Charan Singh University, Meerut 250001, Uttar Pradesh, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Pranali","family":"Shete","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Microbiology, Smt. CHM College, University of Mumbai, Ulhasnagar 421003, Maharashtra, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Subhash","family":"Solanki","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Genus Breeding India Pvt Ltd., Pune 411005, Maharashtra, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Rahul","family":"Gupta","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Genus Breeding India Pvt Ltd., Pune 411005, Maharashtra, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4053-9265","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ashish","family":"Jain","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Microbiology, Smt. CHM College, University of Mumbai, Ulhasnagar 421003, Maharashtra, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,6,1]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"215","DOI":"10.1038\/nature11209","article-title":"A framework for human microbiome research","volume":"486","author":"Nelson","year":"2012","journal-title":"Nature"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Sender, R., Fuchs, S., and Milo, R. (2016). Revised Estimates for the Number of Human and Bacteria Cells in the Body. PLOS Biol., 14.","DOI":"10.1101\/036103"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1341","DOI":"10.1016\/j.fertnstert.2015.10.021","article-title":"Introduction: Microbiome in human reproduction","volume":"104","author":"Franasiak","year":"2015","journal-title":"Fertil. Steril."},{"key":"ref_4","unstructured":"Yang, J. (2023, March 10). 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