Microbiome in heritage: how maternal microbiome transmission impacts next generation health

After birth, the infant's intestine is colonized by microorganisms, initiating a period of rapid microbial expansion and major compositional maturation influenced by both maternal and environmental factors. Simultaneously, the host's intestinal environment exhibits unique characteristics that facilitate critical interactions with the developing microbiome during this early-life window. These early biological events have lasting effects on health, fostering immune tolerance to environmental exposures or, conversely, increasing susceptibility to noncommunicable diseases-such as allergies, obesity, and inflammatory bowel disease-if microbiome development is disrupted. In this review, we summarize recent advances in understanding the key stages of microbiome development after birth and explore how changes in the maternal environment-especially diet-as well as maternal intestinal bacteria and their derived molecules shape the microbiome's composition and function in early-life, ultimately influencing long-term health and disease risk. Video Abstract.