The male and female sexual couples leave traces of their “genital microbiomes” during sexual intercourse, even when they use a condom, it suggests a new study.
In the study, the researchers had 12 heterosexual couples monogamas collect samples of swabs after a period of abstinence and then shortly after having sex. Subsequent analyzes led scientists to confirm that, at the beginning, each of the male and female participants had a unique collection of microbes in their lower regions.
However, after penetrating sex, these different microbial communities, or microbiomasThey were transferred to their partners in a reciprocal way. These microbiome changes occurred even in pairs who used condoms, and could be detected using simple laboratory tests.
The researchers who conducted the study, which was published on Wednesday (February 12) in the magazine shortageThey have called this sexual microbiome the “sexome”.
Related: Scientists are building an Ultimate Atlas of the vagina. Here is why.
With more research, scientists hope that sexome analysis can somehow be used to help identify the perpetrators of sexual assault. Particularly, such analysis could be applied to assaults against women, which are significantly more likely to be victims of such attacks than men. In these cases, researchers would typically analyze DNA samples sperm found in a woman’s genital area. But sometimes sperm is detected in these hyssop tests, which can affect the results of the exams.
In their study, Chapman and his colleagues asked a dozen heterosexual couples to refrain from having sex for at least two or four days. After this period of abstinence, they caused the participants to have swabs of their genital regions to be sent to the laboratory for analysis.
In general, female participants had a greater volume of bacteria in their genital microbiomes than male participants, which is equivalent to an average of 8,038 bacterial genetic sequences in women, compared to 6,661 in men. However, males showed a greater diversity of bacterial species, with approximately twice the number of species represented compared to females.
In the second round of the study, couples were asked between two and 14 days before having sex. Then, within three to 12 hours to do so, participants were asked to take a second series of swabs for analysis. Subsequently, this revealed that the unique genital microbiome of a participant could identify in his partner’s swab.
“When we compared the samples before and after, we could see bacterial DNA firms of the female in man and man in the female.” Said Co -author of the study Brendan ChapmanForensic scientist at Murdoch University in Perth, Australia.
“In forensic science, this is what we call a ‘trace’ or ‘transfer’ and that is the kind of things we finally use to show that there was contact,” Live Science told an email.
In addition, three of the 12 couples reported that they used a condom during sexual intercourse, which impacted how many and that the microbes between couples were transferred, but did not completely avoid the formation of the sexome.
Other things that did not seem to affect the microbial transfer included whether the men were circumcised or if any couple had pubic hair. However, the researchers noticed that the composition of the genital microbiome in women changed at different points of their menstrual cycle, which could affect the results of future swab tests.
Now more experiments are needed to replicate these findings in larger groups, since this initial study included only 24 people, the researchers said. Future studies could also aim to answer questions such as how long sexome persist after sexual intercourse.
“We have only scratched the surface to demonstrate this as a technique for use in real cases,” Chapman said. “We still need more participants to ensure that we can reliably develop proper proof for solid validation required by forensic science.”
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