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OBJECTIVE: To determine the effects on the vaginal microbiota of an oral probiotic preparation administered from early pregnancy. \ud \ud DESIGN: Randomised, double blind, placebo-controlled trial. \ud \ud SETTING: Four maternity units in the UK. \ud \ud POPULATION: Women aged 16 years or older recruited at 9-14 weeks' gestation. \ud \ud METHODS: Participants were randomly allocated to receive oral capsules of probiotic containing Lactobacillus rhamnosus GR-1 and Lactobacillus reuteri RC-14 each at 2.5 × 109 colony-forming units (CFUs) or placebo once daily from recruitment until the end of pregnancy. \ud \ud MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Rates of bacterial vaginosis (BV, defined as Nugent score ≥7) at 18-20 weeks' gestation compared by logistic regression adjusted for possible confounders. \ud \ud RESULTS: The primary analysis included 78% (238/304) of participants who initially consented (probiotic group 123, placebo group 115). Of these participants, 95% (227/238) reported an intake of 93% or more of the required number of capsules. The rates of BV did not differ between groups at 18-20 weeks' gestation (15% (19/123) in the probiotic group vs. 9% (10/115) in the placebo group, adjusted odds ratio 1.82, 95% confidence interval 0.64-5.19). There were also no differences between the groups in the proportion of women colonised with the probiotic strains, Escherichia coli, Group B streptococci or other vaginal microbiota. There were no differences in the alpha diversity or composition of the bacterial communities between or within the probiotic and placebo groups at 9-14 and 18-20 weeks' gestation. \ud \ud CONCLUSIONS: Oral probiotics taken from early pregnancy did not modify the vaginal microbiota. \ud \ud TWEETABLE ABSTRACT: The oral probiotic preparation used in this study does not prevent BV in pregnant women.

The pivotal role of diet in shaping gut microbiota has been evaluated in different animal models, including insects. Drosophila flies harbour an inconstant microbiota among which acetic acid bacteria (AAB) are important components. Here, we investigated the bacterial and AAB components of the invasive pest Drosophila suzukii microbiota, by studying the same insect population separately grown on fruit-based or non-fruit artificial diet. AAB were highly prevalent in the gut under both diets (90 and 92% infection rates with fruits and artificial diet respectively). Fluorescent in situ hybridization and recolonization experiments with green fluorescent protein (Gfp)-labelled strains showed AAB capability to massively colonize insect gut. High-throughput sequencing on 16S rRNA gene indicated that the bacterial microbiota of guts fed with the two diets clustered separately. By excluding AAB-related OTUs from the analysis, insect bacterial communities did not cluster separately according to the diet, suggesting that diet-based diversification of the community is primarily reflected on the AAB component of the community. Diet influenced also AAB alpha-diversity, with separate OTU distributions based on diets. High prevalence, localization and massive recolonization, together with AAB clustering behaviour in relation to diet, suggest an AAB role in the D. suzukii gut response to diet modification.