Identification of bacteriophage DNA in human umbilical cord blood

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Presentation Time: 11:30 AM - 12:45 PM
Poster Board Number: B509
Abstract ID: 6681

Presenting Author:
Jennifer A. Sequoia , Neonatology Fellow at Stanford Med.

Abstract:

Bacteriophage, viruses that infect bacteria, are abundant in the human microbiome, and may influence human health in part by regulating bacterial communities.  Yet whether endogenous bacteriophage are vertically transmitted from mother to fetus during human pregnancy is not known. Here, we searched for bacteriophage sequences in cell-free DNA of paired umbilical cord and maternal blood samples from two independent cohorts.  First, we sequenced cell-free DNA from 10 pairs of maternal and cord blood samples, including four pairs affected by pre-eclampsia. We then examined a second cohort, a previously published dataset of 62 paired maternal and cord blood pairs which included many samples from preterm and chorioamnionitis-affected deliveries. In both cohorts, we found shared bacteriophage sequences in paired maternal and cord blood cell-free DNA samples.  We further identified phages present across maternal-infant dyads as well as many phages that were unique to a single sample.  We did not find an association between particular phages or their bacterial hosts in either pre-eclampsia or chorioamnionitis. This study demonstrates the presence of bacteriophage DNA in human cord blood at birth, providing evidence for prenatal vertical transmission of bacteriophages from mother to fetus. Cell-free DNA can provide insights into the endogenous virome in perinatal samples.