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Promiscuity in mice is associated with increased vaginal bacterial diversity

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Abstract

Differences in the number of sexual partners (i.e., mating system) have the potential to exert a strong influence on the bacterial communities present in reproductive structures like the vagina. Because this structure serves as a conduit for gametes, bacteria present there may have a pronounced, direct effect on host reproductive success. As a first step towards the identification of the relationship between sexual behavior and potentially pathogenic bacterial communities inhabiting vital reproductive structures, as well as their potential effects on fitness, I sought to quantify differences in bacterial diversity in a promiscuous and monogamous mammal species. To accomplish this, I used two sympatric species of Peromyscus rodents—Peromyscus californicus and Peromyscus maniculatus that differ with regard to the number of sexual partners per individual to test the hypothesis that bacterial diversity should be greater in the promiscuous P. maniculatus relative to the monogamous P. californicus. As predicted, phylogenetically controlled and operational taxonomic unit-based indices of bacterial diversity indicated that diversity is greater in the promiscuous species. These results provide important new insights into the effects of mating system on bacterial diversity in free-living vertebrates, and may suggest a potential cost of promiscuity.

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Acknowledgments

The research was supported generously by the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology (University of California, Berkeley) and the NSF (IOS0909798). Computational resources were supported in part by the National Science Foundation through TeraGrid resources provided by The Texas Advanced Computing Center under grant number TG-IBN100014. Thanks are owed to Eileen Lacey and the Lacey Lab as well as to Rodrigo Almeida for help during all stages of this work. Lastly, I would like to thank my wife and kids, whose support has been unwavering.

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  1. Museum of Vertebrate Zoology and Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, 3101 Valley Life Sciences Building, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA

    Matthew David MacManes

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Correspondence to Matthew David MacManes.

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Communicated by: Sven Thatje

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MacManes, M.D. Promiscuity in mice is associated with increased vaginal bacterial diversity. Naturwissenschaften 98, 951 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-011-0848-2

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