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Applying Advanced In Vitro Culturing Technology to Study the Human Gut Microbiota
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Dynamics and Stabilization of the Human Gut Microbiome during the First Year of Life

Fredrik Bäckhed1, Josefine Roswall2, Yangqing Peng3

  • 1The Wallenberg Laboratory, Department of Molecular and Clinical Medicine, University of Gothenburg, 41345, Gothenburg, Sweden; Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research, Section for Metabolic Receptology and Enteroendocrinology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen, 2200 Copenhagen, Denmark.

Cell Host & Microbe
|May 15, 2015
PubMed

Insights

The infant gut microbiome

Area of Science:

  • Microbiome research
  • Human gut microbiome
  • Pediatric health

Background:

  • The gut microbiota is crucial for human health.
  • Early life establishment of the gut microbiome is not well understood.
  • Quantitative and functional characterization is needed.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To quantitatively and functionally characterize the infant gut microbiome.
  • To assess the impact of delivery mode and nutrition on microbiome establishment.
  • To understand the early-life interplay between the gut microbiome and the host.

Main Methods:

  • Metagenomic analysis of fecal samples from Swedish infants and mothers.
  • Characterization of the gut microbiome during the first year of life.
  • Assessment of factors influencing microbiome establishment.

Main Results:

  • C-section delivery resulted in gut microbiota less similar to mothers compared to vaginal delivery.
  • Nutrition significantly impacted early microbiota composition and function.
  • Cessation of breastfeeding, not solid food introduction, promoted adult-like microbiota maturation.
  • Microbiota composition and ecological networks evolved with functional maturation.

Conclusions:

  • Delivery mode and nutrition are key determinants of early-life gut microbiome development.
  • Breastfeeding cessation is critical for the transition to an adult-like gut microbiota.
  • This study provides a framework for understanding the early-life gut microbiome and its host interactions.

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