Abstract
Our objective was to investigate the effects of different delivery and feeding modes on the gut microbiota composition of early infants with special emphasis on Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus profiles at species level. 16S rRNA V3-V4 regions, bifidobacterial, and lactobacilli groEL genes from infant feces were sequenced by Illumina MiSeq. Gut microbiota abundance was significantly different, where standard vaginally delivered (SVD) and breast-fed (BF) groups were higher in comparison with caesarean section (CS), milk-powder-fed (MPF), and mixed-fed (MF) groups. The genus unclassified Enterobacteriaceae was dominant, followed by Bifidobacterium, which was highly abundant in SVD and BF groups. The dominant Bifidobacterium species in all groups were B. longum subsp. longum, B. longum subsp. infantis and B. animalis subsp. lactis. B. dentium and the diversity of Bifidobacterium in SVD and BF groups were significantly higher. For Lactobacillus profiles, L. rhamnosus and L. gasseri were dominant among all the groups, while Lactobacillus species in CS and MPF groups were more diverse. Functional predictions showed significant differences between delivery mode and feeding groups, such as phosphotransferase system as well as taurine and hypotaurine metabolism. In early infants with different delivery and feeding methods, gut microbiota—particularly bifidobacteria and lactobacilli communities—showed significant differences, with strong implications for physiological functions.
Highlights
There are approximately 1014 microorganisms in the human gut, encoding 100 times more genes than the human genome [1]
The establishment of infant gut microbiota is a complex process influenced by many factors, such as delivery mode, feeding, medication use, hospital environment, other early life experiences, and host genetics
This study focused on the effects of delivery and feeding methods on gut microbiota, at the level of phylum and genus, and at species level for Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus
Summary
There are approximately 1014 microorganisms in the human gut, encoding 100 times more genes than the human genome [1]. Many studies have shown that gut microbiota play important roles in human health and wellbeing [2]. Bifidobacterium is one of the dominant bacterial genera, and has important effects on the development of gut microbiota during early and subsequent infant physiological state and health [4]. Recent studies have shown that delivery mode and feeding type are important factors influencing gut microbiota, and have significant correlation with the intestinal microbial diversity of infants at 6 weeks of age [8]. Mode of delivery (e.g., standard vaginally delivered (SVD) and caesarean section (CS)) have been shown to affect the colonization of gut microbiota in neonates and infants—especially the number and composition of Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus [9]. The microbes in the gut of SVD newborns are similar to those in the maternal skin and vagina, with Enterococcus, Streptococcus, Lactobacillus, Clostridium, and Bifidobacterium found to be prevalent [10], while skin bacteria and bacteria in the hospital environment have been found to colonize the gut of CS newborns, leading to low abundance of Bifidobacterium and lower bacterial diversity, and have been suggested to destroy the normal establishment of infant gut microbiota [11]
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