The identification of vaginal Lactobacillus species and the demographic and microbiologic characteristics of women colonized by these species

Lactobacillus acidophilus has been reported to be the predominant vaginal s pecies. Vaginal lactobacilli isolated from 215 sexually active women were i dentified using whole-chromosomal DNA probes to 20 American Type Culture Co llection Lactobacillus strains. Most women were colonized by L. crispatus ( 32%), followed by L. jensenii (23%), a previously undescribed species desig nated L. 1086V (15%), L. gasseri (5%), L, fermentum (0.3%), L. oris (0.3%), L. reuteri (0.3%), L. ruminis (0.3%), and L. vaginalis (0.3%), H2O2 was pr oduced by 95% of L. crispatus and 94% of L. jensenii isolates, compared wit h only 9% of L. 1086V, Colonization by L. crispatus or L. jensenii was posi tively associated with being white (P < .001), age greater than or equal to 20 years (P = .05), barrier contraceptive usage (P = .008), and lower freq uency of bacterial vaginosis (P < .001) and gonorrhea (P = .03), L, crispat us and L. jensenii, not L. acidophilus, are the most common species of vagi nal lactobacilli.