The composition of the gut microbiota throughout life, with an emphasis on early life

By J. M. Rodríguez, Kiera Murphy, C. Stanton, R. Ross, Olivia I. Kober, N. Juge, E. Avershina, K. Rudi, A. Narbad, M. Jenmalm and 2 more. Microbial Ecology in Health and Disease, 2015

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Abstract The intestinal microbiota has become a relevant aspect of human health. Microbial colonization runs in parallel with immune system maturation and plays a role in intestinal physiology and regulation. Increasing evidence on early microbial contact suggest that human intestinal microbiota is seeded before birth. Maternal microbiota forms the first microbial inoculum, and from birth, the microbial diversity increases and converges toward an adult-like microbiota by the end of the first 3–5 years of life. Perinatal factors such as mode of delivery, diet, genetics, and intestinal mucin glycosylation all contribute to influence microbial colonization. Once established, the composition of the gut microbiota is relatively stable throughout adult life, but can be altered as a result of bacterial infections, antibiotic treatment, lifestyle, surgical, and a long-term change in diet. Shifts in this complex microbial system have been reported to increase the risk of disease. Therefore, an adequate establishment of microbiota and its maintenance throughout life would reduce the risk of disease in early and late life. This review discusses recent studies on the early colonization and factors influencing this process which impact on health.

Subfields: Molecular Biology, Nutrition and Dietetics, Physiology

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/99abee61d714a34e58361ba3ffc078ba3ce62d99

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Citations in the corpus

Mother-to-Infant Microbial Transmission from Different Body Sites Shapes the Developing Infant Gut Microbiome (2018, background): “These facultative anaerobes are known early colonizers of the infant gut, and these pioneering speciesmediate the shift from aerobic to anaerobic conditions typically associated with the adult state (Backhed et al., 2015; Houghteling and Walker, 2015; Rodriguez et al., 2015).”
The Gut Microbiota and Inflammation: An Overview (2020, background): “These observations are hypothesised to be due to hormonal differences, however, more research must be conducted to understand the exact mechanisms [49].”
Postbiotics—A Step Beyond Pre- and Probiotics (2020, background): “As the microbiota “matures” up to about three years of age [1], any abnormalities can be associated with short- and long-term consequences (e.”
The seed microbiome: Origins, interactions, and impacts (2017, background): “While the gut microbes of many mammals are obligate anaerobes, the gastrointestinal tract also harbors many facultative anaerobes, particularly among juveniles and older adults (Rodriguez et al. 2015).”
The First Microbial Colonizers of the Human Gut: Composition, Activities, and Health Implications of the Infant Gut Microbiota (2017, background): “Geographical location may also have an impact on the microbiota, as microbiota differences appear to be related to dietary patterns and lifestyle in a specific area (60).”
Impact of the gut microbiota on inflammation, obesity, and metabolic disease (2016, background): “The process of colonization with these microbes starts prenatally, through microbial transmission from mother to fetus [2].”
The gut microbiota: a major player in the toxicity of environmental pollutants? (2016, background): “The composition, diversity and enzymatic capacities of the gut microbiota are readily affected by various environmental factors, such as the host’s lifestyle, diet and use of antibiotics.(83,84) Several environmental chemicals have also been shown to inhibit GI bacterial growth or to induce dysbiosi”
Kynurenine pathway metabolism and the microbiota‐gut‐brain axis (2017, background): “However, it must be noted that despite the long held view that the in-utero environment is entirely sterile, it has recently been shown that prior to breastfeeding, the amniotic fluid, placenta and meconium of newborns, might contain small counts of bacteria (Rodríguez et al., 2015).”