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Infant Gut Strain Persistence and Maternal Seeding Community

Community ID CommunityMech:000240
Ecological State STABLE
Environment infant gut microbiome
ENVO:00002009

A longitudinal infant gut bacterial community studied at strain resolution over the first year of life across 13 full-term and 9 preterm infants and 17 mother-infant pairs. Infants' initially distinct microbiomes converge by age 1 year. Approximately 11 percent of early colonizers, primarily Bacteroides and Bifidobacterium, persist through the first year and are more prevalent in full-term than in preterm infants. Maternal gut strains are significantly more likely to persist in the infant gut than other strains. Enrichment in genes for surface adhesion, iron acquisition, and carbohydrate degradation may explain why some strains persist through the first year of life.

Taxonomy

Taxon Ontology ID Functional Roles Abundance
persistent infant Bacteroides colonizers NCBITaxon:816
PRIMARY_DEGRADER CROSS_FEEDER
ABUNDANT
  • PMID:34622230 - SUPPORT (IN_VIVO)
    "11% of early colonizers, primarily Bacteroides and Bifidobacterium, persist during the first year of life"
persistent infant Bifidobacterium colonizers NCBITaxon:1678
CROSS_FEEDER
ABUNDANT
  • PMID:34622230 - SUPPORT (IN_VIVO)
    "Bacteroides and Bifidobacterium, persist during the first year of life"
maternal-origin gut bacterial strains NCBITaxon:2
CROSS_FEEDER
N/A
  • PMID:34622230 - SUPPORT (IN_VIVO)
    "maternal gut strains are significantly more likely to persist in the infant gut than other strains"

Ecological Interactions

Ecological interaction network for Infant Gut Strain Persistence and Maternal Seeding Community Bipartite graph where circle nodes represent taxa and colored rectangles represent ecological interactions (cross-feeding, mutualism, syntrophy, competition, commensalism).
Taxon
Cross-feeding
Mutualism
Syntrophy
Competition
Commensalism
Niche partitioning
Colonization facilitation
Strain competition
Predation

Maternal Strain Seeding Drives Persistence

COLONIZATION_FACILITATION

Evidence

  • PMID:34622230 - SUPPORT (IN_VIVO)
    "maternal gut strains are significantly more likely to persist in the infant gut than other strains"

Persistence Traits Encoded in Genomes

COMMENSALISM

Biological Processes:

Evidence

  • PMID:34622230 - SUPPORT (IN_VIVO)
    "Enrichment in genes for surface adhesion, iron acquisition, and carbohydrate degradation may explain persistence"

Microbiome Convergence by Age One

COLONIZATION_FACILITATION

Evidence

  • PMID:34622230 - SUPPORT (IN_VIVO)
    "infants' initially distinct microbiomes converge by age 1 year"

Full-Term Versus Preterm Persistence Disparity

COLONIZATION_FACILITATION

Evidence

  • PMID:34622230 - SUPPORT (IN_VIVO)
    "those are more prevalent in full-term, compared with preterm infants"

External Resources

Name Repository Resource ID
Primary publication for the infant gut strain persistence community
PubMed record for the Lou et al. 2021 Cell Rep Med paper. 		OTHER PMID:34622230
  • PMID:34622230 - SUPPORT (IN_VIVO)
    "Infant gut strain persistence is associated with maternal origin, phylogeny, and traits including surface adhesion and iron acquisition"
DOI landing page
DOI link to the Cell Rep Med paper. 		OTHER doi:10.1016/j.xcrm.2021.100393

Environmental Factors

Factor Value Unit
Birth status full-term (n=13) vs preterm (n=9) infants N/A
  • PMID:34622230 - SUPPORT (IN_VIVO)
    "fecal metagenomes collected from 13 full-term and 9 preterm infants"
Mother-infant pairing 17 mother-infant pairs N/A
  • PMID:34622230 - SUPPORT (IN_VIVO)
    "Examination of 17 mother-infant pairs reveals maternal gut strains"