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The developing hypopharyngeal microbiota in early life

Martin Steen Mortensen1, Asker Daniel Brejnrod1, Michael Roggenbuck1

  • 1Department of Biology, Section of Microbiology, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, bldg. 1, DK2100, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Microbiome
|January 1, 2017
PubMed

Insights

The airway microbiota in healthy infants rapidly develops within the first three months, forming distinct community types. Older siblings significantly influence this early development, shaping the infant

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Pediatrics
  • Genomics

Background:

  • Healthy airways host a unique microbial community.
  • Microbiota disturbances are linked to disease.
  • Early-life airway microbiota development is poorly understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the establishment of the airway microbiota in the first three months of life.
  • To understand the early development of the hypopharyngeal microbiota.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of the hypopharyngeal microbiota in 700 infants from the COPSAC2010 cohort.
  • 16S rRNA gene sequencing of hypopharyngeal aspirates at 1 week, 1 month, and 3 months of age.

Main Results:

  • Five distinct infant airway microbial community types (pneumotypes) were identified.
  • Four pneumotypes were dominated by Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, Moraxella, or Corynebacterium.
  • The airway microbiota showed rapid maturation, influenced by older siblings, with individual infants' microbiota becoming more personalized over time.

Conclusions:

  • The study demonstrates a consolidation of indigenous bacteria in healthy infant airways.
  • Distinct developmental trajectories for the early hypopharyngeal microbiota were observed.
Abstract

Keywords:
Airway microbiomeInfant microbiomeMicrobiome development

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