Urethra of Healthy Men Is Teeming With Microbial Life – Vaginal Sex Results in Distinct Microbiome - SciTechDaily

“We know where bugs in the gut come from; they primarily come from our surroundings through fecal-oral transfer,” says co-senior author David Nelson, a microbiologist at Indiana University.

DNA sequencing results revealed that two types of bacterial communities call the penile urethra home—one native to the organ, the other from a foreign source.

Vagina-associated bacteria remained detectable in the participants for at least two months after vaginal sex, indicating that sexual exposure to the vagina can reshape the male urinary-tract microbiome.

Although current findings from the study show that vaginal bacteria can spread to the penile urethra, the team’s next plan is to test whether the reverse is true.

Using the newly established baseline, the researchers also hope to offer new insights into bacteria’s role in urinary- and reproductive-tract diseases, including unexplained urethral inflammation and STIs.

Reference: “Sexual behavior shapes male genitourinary microbiome composition” by Evelyn Toh, Yue Xing, Xiang Gao, Stephen J. Jordan, Teresa A. Batteiger, Byron E. Batteiger, Barbara Van Der Pol, Christina A. Muzny, Netsanet Gebregziabher, James A. Williams, Lora J. Fortenberry, J. Dennis Fortenberry, Qunfeng Dong and David E. Nelson, Cell Reports Medicine.