Analysis of metagenomic and metatranscriptomic data is complicated and typically requires extensive computational resources. Leveraging a curated reference database of genes encoded by members of the target microbiome can make these analyses more tractable. We assembled a comprehensive human vaginal non-redundant gene catalog (VIRGO). VIRGO is comprehensive and includes 0.95 million non-redundant genes. The gene catalog was functionally and taxonomically annotated. We also constructed vaginal orthologous groups (VOG) from VIRGO. The gene-centric design of VIRGO and VOG provides an easily accessible tool to comprehensively characterize the structure and function of vaginal metagenome and metatranscriptome datasets. VIRGO offers a convenient reference database and toolkit that facilitate a more in-depth understanding of the role of vaginal microorganisms in women’s health and reproductive outcomes.

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Citation: Ma B., France M., Crabtree J., Holm JB, Humphrys M., Brotman RM, Ravel J. (2019). VIRGO, a comprehensive non-redundant gene catalog, reveals extensive within community intraspecies diversity in the human vagina. Nature Communications.