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Updated: May 23, 2025
A Neonatal Imaging Model of Gram-Negative Bacterial Sepsis
Published on: August 12, 2020
Disruption and adaptation: infant gut microbiota's dynamic response to SARS-CoV-2 infection
Li-Ting Zhu1,2, Lei Zhao3, Yue Zhu1
1Xiamen Key Laboratory of Indoor Air and Health, State Key Laboratory for Ecological Security of Regions and Cities, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen, 361021, China.
Background:
The responses of the infant gut microbiota to infection significantly disrupt the natural intrahost evolutionary processes of the microbiome. Here, we collected a 16-month longitudinal cohort of infant gut microbiomes affected by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Then, we developed a multicriteria approach to identify core interaction network driving community dynamics under environmental disturbances, which we termed the Conserved Variated Interaction Group (CVIgroup).
Results:
The CVIgroup showed significant advantages on pinpointing a sparse set associated with the disturbances, as validated both our own and publicly available datasets. Leveraging the Oxford Nanopore Technology, we found this group facilitates the ecosystem's adaptation to environmental disruptions by enhancing the mobility of mobile genetic elements, including the reinforcement of the twin-arginine translocation pathway in response to increased virulence factors. Furthermore, the CVIgroup serves as an effective indicator of ecosystem health. The timescale for the gut microbiota's adaptation extends beyond 10 months. Members of the CVIgroup, such as Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron and Faecalibacterium, exhibit varying degrees of genomic structural variants, which contribute to guiding the community toward a new stable state rather than returning to its original configuration.
Conclusions:
Collectively, the CVIgroup offers a snapshot of the gut microbiota's adaptive response to environmental disturbances. The disruption and subsequent adaptation of the gut microbiota in infants after COVID-19 infection underscores the necessity of re-evaluating reference standards in the context of the post-pandemic era. Video Abstract.
Insights
Infant gut microbiomes disrupted by SARS-CoV-2 infection adapt over 10 months. A new method identified a core microbial group (CVIgroup) that guides this adaptation, indicating ecosystem health post-COVID-19.
Area of Science:
- Microbiome research
- Infectious disease dynamics
- Computational biology
Background:
- Infant gut microbiota is disrupted by infections, altering natural evolutionary processes.
- Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection impacts infant gut microbiomes.
- Environmental disturbances challenge microbial community stability.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a method for identifying core microbial interaction networks driving community dynamics during disturbances.
- To characterize the adaptive response of infant gut microbiomes to SARS-CoV-2 infection.
- To establish microbial indicators of ecosystem health.
Main Methods:
- Collected a 16-month longitudinal cohort of infant gut microbiomes post-SARS-CoV-2 infection.
- Developed a multicriteria approach to identify the Conserved Variated Interaction Group (CVIgroup).
- Utilized Oxford Nanopore Technology for genomic analysis.
Main Results:
- The CVIgroup effectively identifies key microbial players associated with environmental disturbances.
- This group enhances adaptation by promoting mobile genetic element mobility and reinforcing pathways like twin-arginine translocation.
- The gut microbiota's adaptation timescale exceeds 10 months, with specific microbes guiding the community to a new stable state.
- CVIgroup members like Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron and Faecalibacterium show genomic variations contributing to community re-stabilization.
Conclusions:
- The CVIgroup provides insights into the gut microbiota's adaptive strategies following environmental disturbances.
- Infant gut microbiota disruption and adaptation post-COVID-19 necessitate re-evaluation of reference standards.
- This highlights the long-term impact of infections on microbial community structure and function.
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