How a mother’s microbiome helps shape her baby’s development during late pregnancy and the first year of life

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"Appearing in Cell, the study is the first to uncover large-scale “horizontal gene transfer” events between different species of maternal and infant gut bacteria. The research also revealed a wide range of chemicals produced by the bacteria, or metabolites, that are unique to the baby. Together, the findings add to a growing appreciation for the complex physiological connection between mother and infant during early life. ...

[the] lab first began studying the microbiome ... eight years ago. Since then, they have investigated how gut bacteria fluctuate during early life, how early microbiome colonization influences risk for immune-related diseases like type 1 diabetes, allergy, asthama ansd inflammatory bowel disease, and how the microbiome varies in different places around the globe.

In this new study, [the] team aimed to more deeply explore the development of the microbiome during the first year of life. They sequenced bacterial DNA from stool samples from 70 mother-child pairs collected during late pregnancy through various stages of infancy.

In the infant gut bacterial genomes, the researchers pinpointed hundreds of genes that had originated in maternal bacteria. This indicates that the bacterial horizontal gene transfer from mother to baby isn’t a one-time event at childbirth, but an ongoing process throughout the baby’s first year of life.
Among the shared genes the team identified are many that encode proteins related to the infant diet, such as enzymes that break down complex sugars in breast milk. ...

The team also revealed microbiome and metabolome profiles in the infants that were distinct from and less diverse than those in their mothers, including hundreds of unique metabolites not seen in the mothers, such as neurotransmitters and immune modulators.

In the metabolomic profiles of young, breastfed infants, the scientists found substances known to boost inflammation in disease, suggesting that in very early life, the metabolites promote healthy maturation of the immune system. ..."

From the highlights and abstract:

"Highlights

• Mobile genetic elements from maternal bacteria shape offspring gut microbiomes

• Microbiome and metabolome shifts in pregnancy may impact maternal metabolic health

• The infant gut harbors unique metabolites and species-metabolite relationships

• Diet modulates metabolomic profiles and immune system maturation in infants

Summary

The perinatal period represents a critical window for cognitive and immune system development, promoted by maternal and infant gut microbiomes and their metabolites. Here, we tracked the co-development of microbiomes and metabolomes from late pregnancy to 1 year of age using longitudinal multi-omics data from a cohort of 70 mother-infant dyads. We discovered large-scale mother-to-infant interspecies transfer of mobile genetic elements, frequently involving genes associated with diet-related adaptations. Infant gut metabolomes were less diverse than maternal but featured hundreds of unique metabolites and microbe-metabolite associations not detected in mothers. Metabolomes and serum cytokine signatures of infants who received regular—but not extensively hydrolyzed—formula were distinct from those of exclusively breastfed infants. Taken together, our integrative analysis expands the concept of vertical transmission of the gut microbiome and provides original insights into the development of maternal and infant microbiomes and metabolomes during late pregnancy and early life."

How a mother’s microbiome helps shape her baby’s development | Broad Institute

Mobile genetic elements from the maternal microbiome shape infant gut microbial assembly and metabolism (no public access)

Graphical abstract