Metagenomic analysis of the diversity of urethral microbiota in male patients with Neisseria gonorrhoeae infection

TAN Lufeng; LIN Yusen; ZHOU Jiajian

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1674-8468.2025.10.001

Abstract：Objective Metagenomic high-throughput sequencing(mNGS)was applied to ana-lyze the differences in the diversity,structure,and abundance of the urethral microbiota between male gonorrhea patients and healthy individuals and to explore the relationship between Neisseria gonorrhoeae(NG)infection and urethral microbiota in the urethra of male gonorrhea patients.Methods Fourteen male gonorrhea patients(NG group)treated at the dermatological clinic of the Sixth People's Hospital of Panyu District from March 2023 to December 2024 were selected.Seventeen healthy individuals served as the control group(HC group).DNA was extracted from urethral swab samples.After removal of host sequences,the resulting data were subjected to high-throughput sequencing.The differences in urethral microbial communities were compared between the two groups.Results The abundance and diversity of the microbiota in male gonorrhea pa-tients was significantly lower than those in the HC group.Abundance of Neisseria was observed at the Order,Family,Genus,and Species levels.The classification model established using the read count of Neisseria accurately distinguished male gonorrhea patients.NG infection was accompanied by an increased abundance of Bacillus spp.compared with other species.Conclusions The ure-thral microbiota of male gonorrhea patients is strikingly distinct from that of healthy individuals in terms of species composition,structure,and diversity.NG infection potentially induces Bacillus spp.to transform into pathogenic microorganisms involved in the onset and progression of urinary tract infections,suggesting that urethral microbiota dysbiosis is a hallmark of gonococcal infection.