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Stepwise establishment of functional microbial groups in the infant gut between 6 months and 2 years: A prospective

Van T Pham1,2, Anna Greppi1, Christophe Chassard1

  • 1Laboratory of Food Biotechnology, Institute of Food, Nutrition and Health, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.

Frontiers in Nutrition
|August 15, 2022
PubMed

Insights

Infant gut microbiota shifts from lactate utilization to butyrate production by two years. Weaning between 6-10 months significantly increases butyrate producers and fecal butyrate concentration.

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Gastroenterology
  • Nutritional Science

Background:

  • Early infant gut microbial colonization is crucial for health.
  • Previous work identified lactate cross-feeding and keystone species in infants (0-6 months).
  • Limited data exists on microbial functional group dynamics beyond the first six months.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the longitudinal colonization of functional microbial groups involved in lactate metabolism and butyrate production in infants from 6 months to 2 years.
  • To identify dynamic shifts in bacterial species responsible for lactate utilization and butyrate synthesis.
  • To explore the relationship between microbial changes, the weaning period, and fecal butyrate concentration.

Main Methods:

  • Longitudinal fecal sample analysis from 40 healthy Swiss infants (6 months to 2 years).
  • Focus on microbial functional groups involved in lactate and butyrate metabolism.
  • Correlation analyses to investigate metabolic cross-feeding, including hydrogen.

Main Results:

  • A switch in predominant lactate-utilizing bacteria was observed: from Veillonella (propionate producer) in the first year to Anaerobutyricum hallii (butyrate producer) in the second year.
  • A significant increase in butyrate producers and fecal butyrate concentration occurred during the weaning period (6-10 months).
  • Evidence for metabolic cross-feeding of hydrogen in infants was identified.

Conclusions:

  • The infant gut microbiota undergoes significant functional shifts in lactate and butyrate metabolism during the first two years of life.
  • The weaning period is a critical window for the establishment of butyrate-producing bacteria and increased butyrate levels.
  • This study provides novel insights into infant gut microbial ecology and metabolic interactions, including hydrogen cross-feeding.

Keywords:
butyrate-producing bacteriacolonizationfunctional communityinfant gut microbiotalactate utilization

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