The urinary microbiome is a relatively unexplored niche that varies with gender. Urinary microbes, especially in aging populations, are associated with morbidity. We present a large-scale study exploring factors defining urinary microbiome composition in community-dwelling older adult women without clinically active infection. Using 1,600 twins, we estimate the contribution of genetic and environmental factors to microbiome variation. The urinary microbiome is distinct from nearby sites and unrelated to stool microbiome with more Actinobacteria, Fusobacteria and Proteobacteria, but fewer Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes and Verrumicrobia. A quarter of variants had heritability estimates greater than 10% with most heritable microbes having potential clinical relevance, including Escherichia-Shigella linked to urinary tract infections. Age, menopausal status, prior UTI, and host genetics were top factors defining the urobiome with increased microbial diversity tending to associate with older age. These findings highlight the distinct composition of the urinary microbiome and significant contributions of host genetics.

泌尿微生物组是一个相对未开发的生态位，随性别而变化。尿液中的微生物，尤其是在老年人群中，与发病率有关。我们提出了一项大规模研究，探讨了在没有临床活动性感染的社区居住的老年女性中定义尿微生物组组成的因素。我们使用 1,600 对双胞胎，估计遗传和环境因素对微生物组变异的贡献。尿液微生物群与附近的地点不同，与粪便微生物群无关，放线菌、梭杆菌和变形菌较多，但拟杆菌门、厚壁菌门和疣微菌较少。四分之一的变异体的遗传力估计值大于 10%，大多数可遗传的微生物具有潜在的临床相关性，包括大肠杆菌-志贺氏菌与尿路感染有关。年龄、绝经状态、先前的 UTI 和宿主遗传学是定义泌尿生物群的主要因素，微生物多样性增加往往与年龄较大相关。这些发现突出了泌尿微生物组的独特组成和宿主遗传学的重要贡献。