Title
Household composition and the infant fecal microbiome: The INSPIRE study
Date Issued
01 July 2019
Access level
open access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Lane A.A.
McGuire M.K.
McGuire M.A.
Williams J.E.
Lackey K.A.
Hagen E.H.
Kaul A.
Gindola D.
Gebeyehu D.
Flores K.E.
Foster J.A.
Sellen D.W.
Kamau-Mbuthia E.W.
Kamundia E.W.
Mbugua S.
Moore S.E.
Prentice A.M.
Kvist L.J.
Otoo G.E.
Rodríguez J.M.
Ruiz L.
Bode L.
Price W.J.
Meehan C.L.
Publisher(s)
Wiley-Liss Inc
Abstract
Objectives: Establishment and development of the infant gastrointestinal microbiome (GIM) varies cross-culturally and is thought to be influenced by factors such as gestational age, birth mode, diet, and antibiotic exposure. However, there is little data as to how the composition of infants' households may play a role, particularly from a cross-cultural perspective. Here, we examined relationships between infant fecal microbiome (IFM) diversity/composition and infants' household size, number of siblings, and number of other household members. Materials and methods: We analyzed 377 fecal samples from healthy, breastfeeding infants across 11 sites in eight different countries (Ethiopia, The Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Peru, Spain, Sweden, and the United States). Fecal microbial community structure was determined by amplifying, sequencing, and classifying (to the genus level) the V1–V3 region of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene. Surveys administered to infants' mothers identified household members and composition. Results: Our results indicated that household composition (represented by the number of cohabitating siblings and other household members) did not have a measurable impact on the bacterial diversity, evenness, or richness of the IFM. However, we observed that variation in household composition categories did correspond to differential relative abundances of specific taxa, namely: Lactobacillus, Clostridium, Enterobacter, and Klebsiella. Discussion: This study, to our knowledge, is the largest cross-cultural study to date examining the association between household composition and the IFM. Our results indicate that the social environment of infants (represented here by the proxy of household composition) may influence the bacterial composition of the infant GIM, although the mechanism is unknown. A higher number and diversity of cohabitants and potential caregivers may facilitate social transmission of beneficial bacteria to the infant gastrointestinal tract, by way of shared environment or through direct physical and social contact between the maternal–infant dyad and other household members. These findings contribute to the discussion concerning ways by which infants are influenced by their social environments and add further dimensionality to the ongoing exploration of social transmission of gut microbiota and the “old friends” hypothesis.
Start page
526
End page
539
Volume
169
Issue
3
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Pediatría
Gastroenterología, Hepatología
Subjects
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85064639074
PubMed ID
Source
American Journal of Physical Anthropology
ISSN of the container
00029483
Sponsor(s)
National Science Foundation, Grant/Award Number: 1344288; National Institutes of Health COBRE Phase III Grant, Grant/Award Number: P30GM103324
We sincerely thank Andrew Doel (Medical Research Council Unit, The Gambia) for field supervision and logistics planning and Alansan Sey for questionnaire administration and taking anthropometric measurements in The Gambia; Jane Odei (University of Ghana) for supervising field data collection in Ghana; Haile Belachew (Hawassa University), and Birhanu Sintayehu for planning, logistics, recruiting, and data collection and the administration and staff at Adare Hospital in Hawassa for assistance with logistics in Ethiopia; Catherine O Sarange (Egerton University) for field supervision and logistics planning and Milka W. Churuge and Minne M. Gachau for recruiting, questionnaire administration, and taking anthropometric measurements in Kenya; Gisella Barbagelatta (Instituto de Investigaci?n Nutricional) for field supervision and logistics planning, Patricia Calderon (Instituto de Investigaci?n Nutricional) for recruiting, questionnaire administration, and taking anthropometric measurements, and Roxana Barrutia (Instituto de Investigaci?n Nutricional) for the management and shipping of samples in Peru; Leonides Fern?ndez, and Irene Espinosa-Martos (Complutense University of Madrid) for technical assistance, expertise, and review of the manuscript and M ?ngeles Checa (Zaragoza, Spain), Katalina Legarra (Guernica, Spain), and Julia M?nguez (Huesca, Spain) for participation in the collection of samples in Spain; Kirsti Kaski and Maije Sj?strand (both Helsingborg Hospital) for participation in the collection of samples, questionnaire administration, and anthropometric measurements in Sweden; Renee Bridge and Kara Sunderland (both University of California, San Diego) and Janae Carrothers and Shelby Hix (Washington State University) for logistics planning, recruiting, questionnaire administration, sample collection, and taking anthropometric measurements in California and Washington; Jessica Zachek, Elizabeth Benda, Romana Hyde, and Morgan Potton (University of Idaho) for their help in sample analysis; and Glenn Miller (Washington State University) for his expertise and critical logistic help that were needed for shipping samples and supplies worldwide.
Sources of information:
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