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Bifidobacterium breve-Trichomonas vaginalis Vaginal Co-culture

Community ID CommunityMech:000318
Ecological State ENGINEERED
Environment laboratory co-culture with HeLa epithelial cells
ENVO:01001405

A defined two-member co-culture of the vaginal commensal Bifidobacterium breve with the sexually transmitted protozoan parasite Trichomonas vaginalis, assayed against HeLa epithelial cells. The result runs counter to the expectation that a beneficial commensal antagonises the parasite: over 4 h the protozoan proliferated 1.2-fold more while bacterial abundance fell 27%, microscopy showed direct physical association between the two organisms, and transcriptomics of T. vaginalis showed upregulation of fatty acid metabolism and DNA replication genes together with virulence-associated genes including adhesins, corroborated by metabolomic changes in long-chain fatty acids. B. breve conferred no protection on host epithelial cells, and the effects on the parasite were transient. The record captures a commensal-parasite association in which the commensal is depleted while the parasite is enhanced.

Taxonomy

Taxon Ontology ID Functional Roles Abundance
Bifidobacterium breve NCBITaxon:1685 N/A
  • PMID:41688526 - SUPPORT (IN_VITRO)
    "a reduction in the population of Bifidobacterium breve has been documented in women infected with T. vaginalis"
Trichomonas vaginalis NCBITaxon:5722 N/A
  • PMID:41688526 - SUPPORT (IN_VITRO)
    "Co-culture of T. vaginalis with B. breve for 4 h significantly increased protozoan proliferation by 1.2-fold, while bacterial abundance was reduced by 27%"
HeLa human epithelial cells NCBITaxon:9606 N/A
  • PMID:41688526 - SUPPORT (IN_VITRO)
    "HeLa cells showed no cytopathic effects or changes after treatment with B. breve, whether given before or alongside T. vaginalis"

Ecological Interactions

Ecological interaction network for Bifidobacterium breve-Trichomonas vaginalis Vaginal Co-culture Bipartite graph where circle nodes represent taxa and each ecological interaction is drawn as a distinct non-circular symbol, with colour repeating the same distinction (commensalism).
Taxon
Commensalism
Other

Trichomonas vaginalis Proliferation at the Expense of Bifidobacterium breve

PREDATION

Source Taxon: Trichomonas vaginalis

Target Taxon: Bifidobacterium breve

Metabolites: long-chain fatty acid (CHEBI:15904)

Evidence

  • PMID:41688526 - PARTIAL (IN_VITRO)
    "Co-culture of T. vaginalis with B. breve for 4 h significantly increased protozoan proliferation by 1.2-fold, while bacterial abundance was reduced by 27%"
  • PMID:41688526 - PARTIAL (IN_VITRO)
    "Transcriptomic profiling of T. vaginalis co-cultured with B. breve revealed an upregulation of genes related to fatty acid metabolism and DNA replication"

Absence of Host Epithelial Protection

COMMENSALISM

Evidence

  • PMID:41688526 - SUPPORT (IN_VITRO)
    "it does not confer protection on host epithelial cells during infection"

Environmental Factors

Factor Value Unit
Co-culture duration 4 h N/A
  • PMID:41688526 - SUPPORT (IN_VITRO)
    "modulates parasite gene expression and lipid metabolism transiently"

Growth Media

Bifidobacterium broth, B. breve maintenance

Atmosphere ANAEROBIC

Composition

Component Concentration Unit CHEBI
Bifidobacterium broth N/A N/A N/A

Preparation notes: Maintenance culture for the bacterial partner, kept as -80C glycerol stocks. Extracted from the cached open-access full text; #183 listed this record as lacking growth conditions because they are Methods-level.

Evidence

PMID:41688526

"B. breve (ATCC 15700) was maintained anaerobically in Bifidobacterium broth, streaked to isolate single colonies, and preserved at −80°C in 50% glycerol"

Serum-free YI-S co-culture assay

Atmosphere ANAEROBIC

Composition

Component Concentration Unit CHEBI
YI-S, serum-free N/A N/A N/A

Preparation notes: The assay the record is about - B. breve at 1e8 CFU against T. vaginalis at 1e7 cells, the ratio taken from the prior study the source cites. Viability and bacterial counts were read at sequential time points.

Evidence

PMID:41688526

"Both organisms were combined in serum-free YI-S and incubated anaerobically for four hours"

PMID:41688526

"Mid-log phase bacteria and parasites were adjusted to 108 CFU and 107 cells, respectively"