Abstract
Interaction with intestinal microbes in infancy has a profound impact on health and disease in later life through programming of immune and metabolic pathways. We collected maternal faeces, placenta, amniotic fluid, colostrum, meconium and infant faeces samples from 15 mother-infant pairs in an effort to rigorously investigate prenatal and neonatal microbial transfer and gut colonisation. To ensure sterile sampling, only deliveries at full term by elective caesarean section were studied. Microbiota composition and activity assessment by conventional bacterial culture, 16S rRNA gene pyrosequencing, quantitative PCR, and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis revealed that the placenta and amniotic fluid harbour a distinct microbiota characterised by low richness, low diversity and the predominance of Proteobacteria. Shared features between the microbiota detected in the placenta and amniotic fluid and in infant meconium suggest microbial transfer at the foeto-maternal interface. At the age of 3–4 days, the infant gut microbiota composition begins to resemble that detected in colostrum. Based on these data, we propose that the stepwise microbial gut colonisation process may be initiated already prenatally by a distinct microbiota in the placenta and amniotic fluid. The link between the mother and the offspring is continued after birth by microbes present in breast milk.
Highlights
Reason for caesarean section breach position hemorrhoids pelvic diameter breach position pelvic diameter previous section pelvic diameter fear of childbirth breach position breach position breach position previous section placenta praevia previous section fear of childbirth
We report here for the first time direct evidence suggesting that distinct amniotic fluid, placenta and colostrum microbiota contribute to perinatal human gut colonisation
The activity of the amniotic fluid microbiota as assessed by functional assignment analyses of Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways was distinctly different from that observed in colostrum or meconium (Fig. 2A–C), both of which exhibited a specific and unique microbiota composition (Fig. 1A–D)
Summary
Reason for caesarean section breach position hemorrhoids pelvic diameter breach position pelvic diameter previous section pelvic diameter fear of childbirth breach position breach position breach position previous section placenta praevia previous section fear of childbirth. The purpose of this study was to characterise the microbial populations in the placenta, amniotic fluid and colostrum and to elucidate their role as the initial inoculum for the intestinal microbiota. The study is based on maternal faeces, placenta, amniotic fluid, colostrum, meconium and infant faeces samples obtained from mothers undergoing elective caesarean section delivery and their infants. Obtaining samples from several niches from the same mother-infant pairs and selecting only infants born by sterile elective caesarean section at full term without onset of labour, rupture of membranes or signs of maternal infection enabled us to reliably compare microbiota composition in these maternal compartments and correlate them with meconium and neonatal gut microbiota. We report here for the first time direct evidence suggesting that distinct amniotic fluid, placenta and colostrum microbiota contribute to perinatal human gut colonisation
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