Abstract
ScopeThe long‐lasting consequences of nutritional programming during the early phase of life have become increasingly evident. The effects of maternal nutrition on the developing intestine are still underexplored.Methods and resultsIn this study, we observed (1) altered microbiota composition of the colonic luminal content, and (2) differential gene expression in the intestinal wall in 2‐week‐old mouse pups born from dams exposed to a Western‐style (WS) diet during the perinatal period. A sexually dimorphic effect was found for the differentially expressed genes in the offspring of WS diet‐exposed dams but no differences between male and female pups were found for the microbiota composition.Integrative analysis of the microbiota and gene expression data revealed that the maternal WS diet independently affected gene expression and microbiota composition. However, the abundance of bacterial families not affected by the WS diet (Bacteroidaceae, Porphyromonadaceae, and Lachnospiraceae) correlated with the expression of genes playing a key role in intestinal development and functioning (e.g. Pitx2 and Ace2).ConclusionOur data reveal that maternal consumption of a WS diet during the perinatal period alters both gene expression and microbiota composition in the intestinal tract of 2‐week‐old offspring.
Highlights
The adverse health effects of maternal malnutrition during the perinatal period on the offspring are increasingly acknowledged [1]
3.1 Maternal exposure to a Western-style diet alters the microbiota composition in the offspring
The microbiota composition of the colonic luminal content of 2-week-old male and female C57BL/6 mice was assessed by deep sequencing of the V3-V4 region of the 16S rRNA genes
Summary
The adverse health effects of maternal malnutrition during the perinatal period on the offspring are increasingly acknowledged [1]. Colonization of the colon develops to form a complex community of bacterial species [7, 8] In humans, this community becomes firmly established during the first years of life and around the age of 3 years [9] it resembles that of adults in its composition and diversity [10, 11]. Cox and colleagues have recently shown that altering the postnatal microbiota composition by low-dose antibiotic exposure has permanent metabolic consequences [22]. This result implies that development of an optimal microbiota composition during the early life phase is of crucial importance for metabolic health in adult life
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