Origin of the neonatal gut microbiota and probiotic intervention: a randomized controlled trial

Area of Science:

• Microbiology
• Maternal-fetal health
• Gastroenterology

Background:

• The early-life gut microbiome is crucial for infant health.
• Understanding the origins of the neonatal gut microbiota is essential for developing targeted interventions.
• Maternal factors, including diet and microbial exposure, significantly shape the infant microbiome.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the origin of the neonatal gut microbiota on the 14th day of life.
• To evaluate the impact of probiotic intervention during the third trimester of pregnancy on maternal and neonatal gut microbiota.
• To determine the influence of maternal microbiota (gut, vaginal, placenta) on neonatal gut microbiota composition.

Main Methods:

• 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing of the V4 region was used to analyze microbial composition.
• Non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) was employed for community analysis.
• SourceTracker was utilized to trace the origin of neonatal gut microbiota.

Main Results:

• Neonatal gut microbiota composition correlated with maternal microbiota throughout different time points.
• The placenta showed a notable influence on meconium microbiota.
• Maternal gut microbiota exerted a greater influence on neonatal gut microbiota on the 3rd and 14th days postpartum.
• Probiotic intervention did not significantly alter the abundance of key bacteria (Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus, Streptococcus) in maternal or neonatal samples, but induced changes in other bacterial taxa.

Conclusions:

• Maternal gut microbiota is a primary determinant of neonatal gut microbial colonization.
• The timing of sample collection and delivery mode influences the observed microbial origins.
• While specific probiotic strains did not dramatically alter dominant bacterial groups, subtle shifts in the broader microbial community warrant further investigation.