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Developmental trajectory of the healthy human gut microbiota during the first 5 years of life

Josefine Roswall1, Lisa M Olsson2, Petia Kovatcheva-Datchary2

  • 1Hallands Hospital Halmstad, Department of Pediatrics, Halmstad, Sweden; Gothenburg Pediatric Growth Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, Institute of Clinical Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.

Cell Host & Microbe
|April 1, 2021
PubMed

Insights

The gut microbiota

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Human Microbiome
  • Developmental Biology

Background:

  • The gut microbiota, a complex ecosystem, is established early in life.
  • The precise sequence of bacterial colonization in infant gut microbiota remains unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the establishment and development of the gut microbiota in Swedish children from birth to 5 years.
  • To identify distinct bacterial colonization patterns and their impact on gut microbial diversity.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of gut microbiota composition using 16S rRNA gene profiling.
  • Longitudinal sampling of 471 children from birth to 5 years, including maternal samples.
  • Comparison of children's microbiota with adult Swedish population data.

Main Results:

  • Identified four distinct bacterial colonization patterns.
  • Observed late colonization by Methanobrevibacter and Christensenellaceae, which did not reach adult levels by age 5.
  • Late colonizers correlated with increased alpha diversity in both children and adults.

Conclusions:

  • Children exhibit unique gut microbiota development trajectories with age-specific community types.
  • Bacterial colonization patterns influence gut microbial diversity during early life development.

Keywords:
16S rRNAC-sectiondeveloping microbiotainfant microbiotalongitudinal cohortmicrobiota

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