Trends in Microbiology
Volume 28, Issue 1, January 2020, Pages 28-45
Journal home page for Trends in Microbiology

Feature Review
Maternal Vertical Transmission Affecting Early-life Microbiota Development

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tim.2019.07.010Get rights and content

Highlights

  • Changes in microbial communities inhabiting the maternal gut, vagina, and breast milk are observed during the period of pregnancy and throughout lactation.

  • The seeding and development of the microbial communities in early life of humans differ among individuals, and may relate to host health status in later life.

  • Being similar to human genetics, shared microbial strains have been observed among mothers and their babies, suggesting vertical transmission of microbiota mainly from the maternal gut, vagina, and breast milk.

  • Human genetics, gestational age, mode of delivery, antibiotic exposure, and maternal diet during pregnancy all influence the developing microbiota of the infant.

  • There may be an opportunity to address such influences through probiotic intervention with ’missing’ microbes.

The association of the human microbiome with health outcomes has attracted much interest toward its therapeutic manipulation. The likelihood of modulating the human microbiome in early life is high and offers great potential to exert profound effects on human development since the early microbiota shows more flexibility compared to that of adults. The human microbiota, being similar to human genetics, can be transmitted from mother to infant, providing insights into early microbiota acquisition, subsequent development, and potential opportunities for intervention. Here, we review adaptations of the maternal microbiota during pregnancy, birth, and infancy, the acquisition and succession of early-life microbiota, and highlight recent efforts to elucidate mother-to-infant microbiota transmission. We further discuss how the mother-to-infant microbial transmission is shaped; and finally we address potential directions for future studies to promote our understanding within this field.

Section snippets

Introduction to the Human Microbiome

Over the past decade and a half, significant advancements in genome sequencing technologies and analyses have tremendously expanded our appreciation of the human microbiota in early life. Our understanding encompasses not only the microbial composition of this unique ecosystem (who they are), but includes a complete overview of its functionality and association with various diseases (what they do), and finally, methods for their precise and personalized modulation (how they are favourably

Maternal Microbiota during Pregnancy, Birth, and Infancy

During and after the course of a normal and healthy gestation, the female undergoes substantial changes in hormone secretion, immune status, and metabolism [12], as well as a remodelling of the microbiota in the gut [13], vagina [14], and breast milk [15] (Figure 1). These microbial changes as a result of evolution might not only promote the development of the foetus but also favour the beneficial and specific microbiota to be transferred into the next generation.

Human Gut Microbiota in Early Life

The human gut microbiota has distinctive compositional and functional features across different periods of life [5]. In early life, although many of its characteristics are still to be unveiled, the gut microbiota is a complex and dynamic ecosystem, and it plays a fundamental role and/or is an essential driver of a range of immune, metabolic, developmental, and physiological processes ultimately affecting host health in the long term 48, 49, 50. The exact timing of the first colonizers in

Mother-to-Infant Vertical Microbiota Transmission

Most recently, evidence with microbial strain level analysis supports the vertical transmission of microbiota from mother to offspring 61, 73, 74. Interventions that favourably modify microbial composition will provide opportunities for overcoming microbial imbalances in early life. In this context, it has been reported that maternal perinatal Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG supplementation can be transmitted to infants, although the observed colonization of the strain in infants was transient [75].

Factors Influencing Mother-to-Infant Transmission of Microbiota

The acquired microbiota communities of the infant belong to various body sites (gut, vagina, oral cavity, and skin) of its mother and are influenced by mode of delivery, gestational age at birth, and feeding regime, as well as other influencing factors such as antibiotic usage and host genetics (Figure 1). Most recently, influences from perinatal factors on the gut microbiota of the next generation have been evidenced up to 4 years of age [72]. Understanding how those factors exert their

Concluding Remarks and Future Perspectives

The maternal microbiota is an important source for the microbiota of infants, which is shaped by a variety of factors. The progression of the microbiota residing in each maternal body site over time, before and after delivery, the mode and extent of their contribution to the infant microbiota, and the factors involved in the process of transmission are just beginning to be uncovered, and numerous questions remain unanswered (see Outstanding Questions). The ongoing advances in sequencing

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the APC Microbiome Ireland SFI funding and by funding from Dupont Nutrition & Biosciences.

Glossary

Alpha diversity
a parameter to reflect the microbial composition within one community.
Beta diversity
a parameter to reflect the differences of the microbial composition across communities.
Colostrum
the first breast milk after the birth of baby.
Colony-forming units (CFUs)
a unit for estimating the number of viable bacteria or fungal cells in a sample after culturing under different conditions for a period of time.
Group B Streptococcus (GBS)
a common type of bacteria in the digestive and lower

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