Vaginal Microbiota Profile Database

The training dataset of 13,160 vaginal microbiota profiles originated from several different studies, all of which have been published previously [7 , 22 (link), 55 (link)–59 (link)]. A detailed explanation of the sample procedures and study populations can be found in the original publications. Samples were either self-collected or physician-collected by swabbing the mid-vagina (n = 11,387) or physician collected via a vaginal lavage with 3 mL of sterile deionized water (n = 1844). Vaginal swabs and vaginal lavage samples were frozen at − 80 °C. Participants also provided behavior and lifestyle information. Nugent scoring was performed as previously described [7 , 35 (link)]. Vaginal pH was established using the VpH glove (Inverness Medical) and binned into categories (≤ 4.5, greater than 4.5 but less than 5.0, between 5.0 and 5.5 inclusive, and ≥ 5.5). All studies were performed under Institutional Review Board-approved protocols, and samples were collected after obtaining written informed consent from all the participants.