Antibiotic treatment at delivery shapes the initial oral microbiome in neonates

Luisa F Gomez-Arango,H David Mcintyre,Helen L Barrett,Leonie K Callaway,Marloes Dekker Nitert,Mark Morrison

doi:10.1038/srep43481

Luisa F Gomez-Arango, H David Mcintyre + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1038/srep43481

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Abstract

Oral microorganisms are important determinants of health and disease. The source of the initial neonatal microbiome and the factors dictating initial human oral microbiota development are unknown. This study aimed to investigate this in placental, oral and gut microbiome profiles from 36 overweight or obese mother-baby dyads as determined by 16S rRNA sequencing. Expression of five antibiotic resistance genes of the β-lactamase class was analysed in the infant oral microbiota samples by QPCR. The neonatal oral microbiota was 65.35% of maternal oral, 3.09% of placental, 31.56% of unknown and 0% of maternal gut origin. Two distinct neonatal oral microbiota profiles were observed: one strongly resembling the maternal oral microbiota and one with less similarity. Maternal exposure to intrapartum antibiotics explained the segregation of the profiles. Families belonging to Proteobacteria were abundant after antibiotics exposure while the families Streptococcaceae, Gemellaceae and Lactobacillales dominated in unexposed neonates. 26% of exposed neonates expressed the Vim-1 antibiotic resistance gene. These findings indicate that maternal intrapartum antibiotic treatment is a key regulator of the initial neonatal oral microbiome.

Highlights

Oral microorganisms are important determinants of health and disease
This study demonstrates that the infant’s oral cavity is rapidly colonized by bacteria resembling those in their mother’s oral cavity in a cohort of overweight and obese women
The interindividual microbial variability was high among infants; maternal intrapartum antibiotic administration significantly contributed to the shaping of the microbial colonization pattern in the neonatal oral cavity

Summary

Introduction

Oral microorganisms are important determinants of health and disease. The source of the initial neonatal microbiome and the factors dictating initial human oral microbiota development are unknown. The first microbial colonizers of the oral cavity in the first day of life stimulate changes in the oral cavity that favour the growth of subsequent species[21] with species from the genus Streptococcus predominating the initial oral microbial load[22,23,24] These pioneer species usually bind to mucosal epithelium (e.g. Streptococcus salivarius) where they produce extracellular polymers from sucrose to which other bacteria can attach[25]. The acquisition of the first microbial colonizers may be altered by multiple maternal and infant factors, which may result in differences in oral microbiota development These factors could include mode of delivery, breastfeeding, pregnancy outcomes, parental contact, antibiotics, host factors and living environment, all of which have been recognised to affect infant’s intestinal microbial habitat[19,26,27,28,29].

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