Figure 5

Extent of vaginal colonization by Prevotella bivia and Atopobium vaginae: correlation analysis between the results of 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing and real-time qPCR. (a) In the discovery cohort, the relative abundance of both Prevotella bivia (r = 0.79, P < 0.001) and Atopobium vaginae (r = 0.86, P < 0.001) as determined by real-time qPCR showed a significant positive association with the results obtained using gene sequencing. (b) Based on the results of real-time qPCR, box plots indicate a statistically significant difference in the relative abundance of Prevotella bivia—but not of Atopobium vaginae—in the extended validation cohort (58 cases with severe preeclampsia and 55 control women).