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Bacterial diversity in meconium of preterm neonates and evolution of their fecal microbiota during the first month of life.

ABSTRACT: The establishment and succession of bacterial communities in infants may have a profound impact in their health, but information about the composition of meconium microbiota and its evolution in hospitalized preterm infants is scarce. In this context, the objective of this work was to characterize the microbiota of meconium and fecal samples obtained during the first 3 weeks of life from 14 donors using culture and molecular techniques, including DGGE and the Human Intestinal Tract Chip (HITChip) analysis of 16S rRNA amplicons. Culture techniques offer a quantification of cultivable bacteria and allow further study of the isolate, while molecular techniques provide deeper information on bacterial diversity. Culture and HITChip results were very similar but the former showed lower sensitivity. Inter-individual differences were detected in the microbiota profiles although the meconium microbiota was peculiar and distinct from that of fecal samples. Bacilli and other Firmicutes were the main bacteria groups detected in meconium while Proteobacteria dominated in the fecal samples. Culture technique showed that Staphylococcus predominated in meconium and that Enterococcus, together with Gram-negative bacteria such as Escherichia coli, Escherichia fergusonii, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Serratia marcescens, was more abundant in fecal samples. In addition, HITChip results showed the prevalence of bacteria related to Lactobacillus plantarum and Streptococcus mitis in meconium samples whereas those related to Enterococcus, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Yersinia predominated in the 3(rd) week feces. This study highlights that spontaneously-released meconium of preterm neonates contains a specific microbiota that differs from that of feces obtained after the first week of life. Our findings indicate that the presence of Serratia was strongly associated with a higher degree of immaturity and other hospital-related parameters, including antibiotherapy and mechanical ventilation.

SUBMITTER: Moles L

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3695978 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:Newborns are constantly exposed to various microbes from birth; hence, diverse commensal bacteria colonize the oral cavity. However, how or when these bacteria construct a complex and stable ecosystem remains unclear. This prospective cohort study examined the temporal changes in bacterial diversity and composition in tongue microbiota during infancy. We longitudinally collected a total of 464 tongue swab samples from 8 infants (age of <6 months at baseline) for approximately 2 years. We also collected samples from 32 children (aged 0 to 2 years) and 73 adults (aged 20 to 29 years) cross-sectionally as control groups. Bacterial diversities and compositions were determined by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The tongue bacterial diversity in infancy, measured as the number of observed operational taxonomic units (OTUs), rapidly increased and nearly reached the same level as that in adults by around 80 weeks. The overall tongue bacterial composition in the transitional phase, 80 to 120 weeks, was more similar to that of adults than to that of the early exponential phase (EEP), 10 to 29 weeks, according to analysis of similarities. Dominant OTUs in the EEP corresponding to Streptococcus peroris and Streptococcus lactarius exponentially decreased immediately after EEP, around 30 to 49 weeks, whereas several OTUs corresponding to Granulicatella adiacens, Actinomyces odontolyticus, and Fusobacterium periodonticum reciprocally increased during the same period. These results suggest that a drastic compositional shift of tongue microbiota occurs before the age of 1 year, and then bacterial diversity and overall bacterial composition reach levels comparable to those in adults by the age of 2 years.IMPORTANCE Evaluating the development of oral microbiota during infancy is important for understanding the subsequent colonization of bacterial species and the process of formation of mature microbiota in the oral cavity. We examined tongue microbiota longitudinally collected from 8 infants and found that drastic compositional shifts in tongue microbiota occur before the age of 1 year, and then bacterial diversity and overall bacterial composition reach levels comparable to those in adults by the age of 2 years. These results may be helpful for preventing the development of various diseases associated with oral microbiota throughout life.

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Bacterial diversity in meconium of preterm neonates and evolution of their fecal microbiota during the first month of life.

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