Abstract

The intestinal microbiota is an important contributor to the health of preterm infants, and may be destabilized by a number of environmental factors and treatment modalities. How to promote the development of a healthy microbiota in preterm infants is largely unknown. We collected fecal samples from 45 breastfed preterm very low birth weight (birth weight < 1500 g) infants from birth until 60 days postnatal age to characterize the intestinal microbiota development during the first weeks of life in preterm infants. Fecal microbiota composition was determined by 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing. The main driver of microbiota development was gestational age; antibiotic use had strong but temporary effects and birth mode had little influence. Microbiota development proceeded in four phases indicated by the dominance of Staphylococcus, Enterococcus, Enterobacter, and finally Bifidobacterium. The Enterococcus phase was only observed among the extremely premature infants and appeared to delay the microbiota succession. The results indicate that hospitalized preterm infants receiving breast milk may develop a normal microbiota resembling that of term infants.

Details

Title
Intestinal microbiota development and gestational age in preterm neonates
Author
Korpela, Katri 1 ; Blakstad, Elin W 2 ; Moltu, Sissel J 3 ; Strømmen, Kenneth 4 ; Britt Nakstad 5 ; Rønnestad, Arild E 6 ; Brække, Kristin 3 ; Iversen, Per O 7 ; Drevon, Christian A 8 ; de Vos, Willem 9 

 Immunobiology Research Programme, Department of Bacteriology and Immunology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland; European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Heidelberg, Germany 
 Department of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, Akershus University Hospital and Institute for Clinical Medicine, Campus Ahus, University of Oslo, Nordbyhagen, Nordbyhagen, Norway; Department of Nutrition, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway 
 Department of Neonatal Intensive Care, Division of Paediatric and Adolescent Medicine, Oslo University Hospital, Ullevål, Oslo, Norway 
 Department of Nutrition, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; Department of Neonatal Intensive Care, Division of Paediatric and Adolescent Medicine, Oslo University Hospital, Rikshospitalet, Oslo, Norway 
 Department of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, Akershus University Hospital and Institute for Clinical Medicine, Campus Ahus, University of Oslo, Nordbyhagen, Nordbyhagen, Norway 
 Department of Neonatal Intensive Care, Division of Paediatric and Adolescent Medicine, Oslo University Hospital, Rikshospitalet, Oslo, Norway; Institute of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway 
 Department of Nutrition, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; Department of Haematology, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway 
 Department of Nutrition, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway 
 Immunobiology Research Programme, Department of Bacteriology and Immunology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland; Laboratory of Microbiology, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands 
Pages
1-9
Publication year
2018
Publication date
Feb 2018
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
e-ISSN
20452322
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
1995261387
Copyright
© 2018. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.