Trends in Microbiology
Feature ReviewMaternal Vertical Transmission Affecting Early-life Microbiota Development
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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