Master’s thesis defence

The Faculty of Medicine at the University of Wasit examines a Master’s thesis investigating microbial imbalance in Lactobacillus bacteria and its link to female infertility
The Faculty of Medicine at the University of Wasit examined the Master’s thesis by student Sawsan Fares Mohsen Abdul-Hussein, entitled:
‘Dysbiosis of Lactobacillus Species in the Reproductive Tract of Subfertile Women in Wasit Province’
The thesis aimed to investigate the relationship between microbial imbalance in Lactobacillus species and impaired fertility in women in Wasit Province, by identifying bacterial species and analysing the microbial composition and diversity in the female reproductive tract using modern molecular and metagenomic techniques.
The study involved metagenomic analysis using V3–V4 region sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene, with data analysed using bioinformatics techniques to reveal the diversity and taxonomic composition of bacterial communities. The results showed a lower relative abundance of Lactobacillus bacteria, particularly Lactobacillus iners, in women with unexplained infertility compared with women of normal fertility, as well as differences in microbial diversity indices and bacterial community state types. Molecular characterisation of the isolates also identified eight species of Lactobacillus, of which Lactobacillus gasseri was the most common.
The examination committee was chaired by Professor Dr Muslim Zahir Musa, with Associate Professor Dr Salim Rahif Aryan and Associate Professor Dr Abeer Hussein Maslat serving as members; the thesis was supervised by Associate Professor Dr Hassan Akram Adbis and Associate Professor Dr Iqbal Abdul Fahd Al-Hasnawi.
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