Cultivating Healthy Growth and Nutrition through the Gut Microbiota

Abstract

Microbiota assembly is perturbed in children with undernutrition, resulting in persistent microbiota immaturity that is not rescued by current nutritional interventions. Evidence is accumulating that this immaturity is causally related to the pathogenesis of undernutrition and its lingering sequelae. Preclinical models in which human gut communities are replicated in gnotobiotic mice have provided an opportunity to identify and predict the effects of different dietary ingredients on microbiota structure, expressed functions, and host biology. This capacity sets the stage for proof-of-concept tests designed to deliberately shape the developmental trajectory and configurations of microbiota in children representing different geographies, cultural traditions, and states of health. Developing these capabilities for microbial stewardship is timely given the global health burden of childhood undernutrition, the effects of changing eating practices brought about by globalization, and the realization that affordable nutritious foods need to be developed to enhance our capacity to cultivate healthier microbiota in populations at risk for poor nutrition.

Gut DNA viromes of Malawian twins discordant for severe acute malnutrition

“…Machine-learning methods (Random Forests) have yielded sparse models composed of a limited number of highly indicative age-discriminatory bacterial strains that together form a signature for defining the normal developmental biology of this microbial organ (3,5). The fact that timedependent changes in the representation of these indicative bacterial strains was similar across biologically unrelated individuals living in distinct geographic areas [e.g., Malawi and Bangladesh (3)] suggests that a set of (still-to-be-defined) rules govern development/differentiation of this organ which is composed of multiple cell lineages (taxa).…”

Early-life enteric infections: relation between chronic systemic inflammation and poor cognition in children

“…As previously mentioned, microbial shifts in the intestinal community are coincident with the diet 110 ; furthermore, remodeling of the intestinal microbial community during the introduction of solid food appears to be dependent on whether infants were breastfed. 86 The quality and type of foods within a given diet influence the composition of the microbiota and, ultimately, host health (reviewed by Mitsuoka 111 and Subramanian et al 112 .). A recent study found that malnutrition is associated with intestinal microbiota immaturity, which was only partially ameliorated by nutritional intervention in Bangladeshi children.…”

Biomarkers to Stratify Risk Groups among Children with Malnutrition in Resource-Limited Settings and to Monitor Response to Intervention

“…The development of the microbiome is influenced by mode of infant delivery, dietary intake, genetic profile, and environmental exposures [40-42]. Malnourished children appear to demonstrate abnormal microbiome development, characterized by less microbial diversity, distinguished by fewer bacterial taxa and lower relative abundance as compared to normally nourished children of the same age [43, 44].…”