Effect of Environmental Exposures on the Gut Microbiota from Early Infancy to Two Years of Age.

Kameron Y Sugino,Sarah S Comstock,Nigel Paneth,Tengfei Ma

doi:10.3390/microorganisms9102140

Kameron Y Sugino, Sarah S Comstock + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms9102140

Copy DOI

Journal: Microorganisms	Publication Date: Oct 13, 2021
Citations: 10	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Michigan State University

Abstract

The gut microbiota undergoes rapid changes during infancy in response to early-life exposures. We have investigated how the infant gut bacterial community matures over time and how exposures such as human milk and antibiotic treatment alter gut microbiota development. We used the LonGP program to create predictive models to determine the contribution of exposures on infant gut bacterial abundances from one month to two years of age. These models indicate that infant antibiotic use, human milk intake, maternal pre-pregnancy BMI, and sample shipping time were associated with changes in gut microbiome composition. In most infants, Bacteroides, Lachnospiraceae unclassified, Faecalibacterium, Akkermansia, and Phascolarctobacterium abundance increased rapidly after 6 months, while Escherichia, Bifidobacterium, Veillonella, and Streptococcus decreased in abundance over time. Individual, time-varying, random effects explained most of the variation in the LonGP models. Multivariate association with linear models (MaAsLin) displayed partial agreement with LonGP in the predicted trajectories over time and in relation to significant factors such as human milk intake. Multiple factors influence the dynamic changes in bacterial composition of the infant gut. Within-individual differences dominate the temporal variations in the infant gut microbiome, suggesting individual temporal variability is an important feature to consider in studies with a longitudinal sampling design.

Highlights

IntroductionWe used the LonGP program to create predictive models to determine the contribution of exposures on infant gut bacterial abundances from one month to two years of age
Our results suggest that an infant diet low in human milk influences the abundance of important members of the infant gut, which have previously been associated with increased infant risk for obesity development
We characterized the infant gut microbiota over the first two years after birth and found age and extent of human milk feeding were the strongest predictors of microbiome change over this period

Summary

Introduction

We used the LonGP program to create predictive models to determine the contribution of exposures on infant gut bacterial abundances from one month to two years of age These models indicate that infant antibiotic use, human milk intake, maternal pre-pregnancy BMI, and sample shipping time were associated with changes in gut microbiome composition. Introduction with regard to jurisdictional claims in During the first 2–3 years of life, the gut microbiome undergoes rapid and important changes to bacterial community structure and function [1,2] This period of maturation is characterized by early abundances of Bifidobacterium, Bacteroides, and Escherichia, which are gradually replaced by obligate anaerobic bacteria, notably members of the Firmicutes phylum, such Clostridiaceae and Lachnospiraceae [3].

Methods

Discussion

Conclusion