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A vaginal microbiome rich in Lactobacillus crispatus is associated with good reproductive and sexual health outcomes. Dysbiosis, indicated by the loss of Lactobacillus crispatus, is a risk factor for urogenital infections, such as the clinical diagnosis of bacterial vaginosis (BV) or urinary tract infections. While many scientists have explored probiotics using a conventional pharmaceutical approach, concerns about accessibility and affordability prompt an investigation into a preventive approach using this naturally occurring bacterium. Our study aimed to explore a potential woman-friendly vaginal probiotic product using the naturally occurring bacterium, Lactobacillus crispatus. Citizen scientists actively participated in a two-day practicum and successfully performed the procedures using self-collected vaginal swabs. The practicum received positive responses from participants who demonstrated notable engagement and enthusiasm. With expert guidance, participants without a laboratory background were able to execute assigned tasks successfully. From the Dutch crispatus Citizen Science Collective of 48 women, 22 succeeded in isolating their own Lactobacillus crispatus strains using a Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP) protocol for identification. Additionally, 48 metagenomes and 54 whole genomes from 22 individuals were sequenced for comparative analysis. This project effectively engaged a community of women in the isolation of Lactobacillus crispatus strains from their vaginal microbiota, followed by in vitro characterization experiments and a hackathon for the development of a probiotic product. Our citizen science approach opens up collaboration possibilities and new avenues for exploration of vaginal health, facilitating community involvement and the development of targeted interventions to enhance women's well-being.

Spontaneously fermented food products contain a complex, natural microbial community with potential probiotic activity. The addition of a health-promoting, probiotic bacterium to these products ensures the delivery of that probiotic activity to consumers. Here, we assess the microbial community of a traditional Senegalese milk product produced by spontaneous fermentation, called lait caillé. We produced the lait caillé in a traditional way and added a probiotic starter containing Lactobacillus rhamnosus yoba 2012 to the traditional process. We found various species that are known for their ability to ferment milk, including species from the genera Lactobacillus, Acetobacter, Lactococcus, and Streptococcus. Our results show that the addition of L. rhamnosus to the inoculum, can result in detectable levels of this strain in the final product, ranging between 0.2 and 1 percent of the total bacterial population. Subsequent rounds of fermentation using passive back-slopping without the addition of new L. rhamnosus led to a loss of this strain from the community of fermenting bacteria. Our results suggest that the addition of probiotic strains at every fermentation cycle can enrich the existing complex communities of traditionally fermented lait caillé while traditional bacterial strains remain dominant in the bacterial communities.