Tehran University of Medical Sciences Iranian Journal of Microbiology 2008-3289 17 6 2025 12 13 901 911 EN Subha Maneesha Department of Genomics, BioAro Inc., Calgary, Alberta, Canada Borawake Arman Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia Canada Dubli Kirti Department of Biological Sciences, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada Balasundaram Preethi Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary Alberta, Canada Chaudhari Rinku Department of Genomics, BioAro Inc., Calgary, Alberta, Canada Jayaprakash Teenus Department of Genomics, BioAro Inc., Calgary, Alberta, Canada Kapoor Raman Department of Genomics, BioAro Inc., Calgary, Alberta, Canada Singh Raja Department of Genomics, BioAro Inc., Calgary, Alberta, Canada Kapoor Anmol Department of Genomics, BioAro Inc., Calgary, Alberta, Canada Borkar-Tripathi Minal Department of Genomics, BioAro Inc., Calgary, Alberta, Canada 2025 07 09 2025 10 30 Background and Objectives: The vaginal microbiome represents a dynamic ecosystem that undergoes significant transformations throughout a woman's lifespan, influenced by hormonal fluctuations and physiological changes. Interpreting pathogen distribution and developing suitable therapeutic care techniques for women's reproductive health depends on an understanding of these age-related patterns. This study aims to thoroughly describe age-related changes in the makeup of the vaginal microbiome and the distribution of pathogenic species. Materials and Methods: Vaginal swab samples were collected from 29 subjects, categorized into different age groups (A: 15-30 years, B: 31-40 years, C: 41-50 years, and D: 51-60 years old females). Microbiome DNA was extracted from the collected vaginal swabs and shotgun next generation sequencing was performed. Post-sequencing, data was analysed using in-house pipeline followed by statistical analysis using R programming. Results: The results showed that microbial diversity varied significantly with age. Group C displayed the most severe pathogenic burden; Group A had the highest overall species diversity with 350 bacterial species. Group D displayed the greatest overall relative abundance levels of microorganisms, primarily due to Lactobacillus rhamnosus dominance. Conclusion: This study shows that the composition of the vaginal microbiome changes fundamentally over the course of a woman's life, with each stage bringing with it its own set of microbial signatures, pathogenic risks, and therapeutic prospects. https://ijm.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijm/article/view/5608 https://ijm.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijm/article/download/5608/1837