The microbiome of an infant growing up with two parents is seeded by and shows an even mix from both parents

Amazing stuff! Very recommendable, but the article by ScienceAdvisor is weird in some respects, not least by its headline!

According to the study:

1. The view it is primarily the mother that seeds the infant's gut is questionable
2. It suggests that other close individuals (perhaps grandparents) could also seed the gut of the infant.

"... To find out, researchers collected fecal samples from 73 different infants and their parents. They discovered that many bacterial strains present in babies at three weeks, three months, and one year originated from the father. In addition, by the time the children were a year old, they had a pretty even mix of microbes from both parents. ..."

From the highlights and abstract:

"Highlights

• Longitudinal metagenomic analyses detail infant gut microbiota seeding dynamics

• Stable transmission from fathers to infants shown in infant-mother-father triads

• Maternal seeding is reduced in cesarean-born infants and after antibiotic use

• Maternal fecal microbiome transplantation increases seeding and replication rates

Summary

Microbial colonization of the neonatal gut involves maternal seeding, which is partially disrupted in cesarean-born infants and after intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis. However, other physically close individuals could complement such seeding. To assess the role of both parents and of induced seeding, we analyzed two longitudinal metagenomic datasets (health and early life microbiota [HELMi]: N = 74 infants, 398 samples, and SECFLOR: N = 7 infants, 35 samples) with cesarean-born infants who received maternal fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT). We found that the father constitutes a stable source of strains for the infant independently of the delivery mode, with the cumulative contribution becoming comparable to that of the mother after 1 year. Maternal FMT increased mother-infant strain sharing in cesarean-born infants, raising the average bacterial empirical growth rate while reducing pathogen colonization. Overall, our results indicate that maternal seeding is partly complemented by that of the father and support the potential of induced seeding to restore potential deviations in this process."

ScienceAdvisor

Paternal and induced gut microbiota seeding complement mother-to-infant transmission (open access)