Early-life effects of juvenile Western diet and exercise on adult gut microbiome composition in mice

Abstract

Alterations to the gut microbiome caused by changes in diet, consumption of antibiotics, etc., can affect host function. Moreover, perturbation of the microbiome during critical developmental periods potentially have long-lasting impacts on hosts. Using four selectively bred High Runner and four non-selected Control lines of mice, we examined the effects of early-life diet and exercise manipulations on the adult microbiome by sequencing the hypervariable Internal Transcribed Spacer region of the bacterial gut community. Mice from High Runner lines run ∼3-fold more on wheels than do Controls, and have several other phenotypic differences (e.g., higher food consumption and body temperature) that could alter the microbiome, either acutely or in terms of coevolution. Males from generation 76 were given wheels and/or Western diet from weaning until sexual maturity at 6 weeks of age, then housed individually without wheels on standard diet until 14 weeks of age, when fecal samples were taken. Juvenile Western diet reduced bacterial richness and diversity after the 8-week washout period (equivalent to ∼6 human years). We also found interactive effects of genetic linetype, juvenile diet, and/or juvenile exercise on microbiome composition and diversity. Microbial community structure clustered significantly in relation to both linetype and diet. Western diet also reduced the relative abundance of Muribaculum intestinale. These results constitute one of the first reports of juvenile diet having long-lasting effects on the adult microbiome after a substantial washout period. Moreover, we found interactive effects of diet with early-life exercise exposure, and a dependence of these effects on genetic background.

Early life Western diet-induced memory impairments and gut microbiome changes in female rats are long-lasting despite healthy dietary intervention

“…Our data show that gut microbial richness, as measured with the Shannon Index, is significantly reduced following early life CAF, but not SUG, diet, and that this effect was actually greater in animals that underwent the healthy dietary intervention compared to those that did not. This outcome is consistent with other studies in which microbial richness was reduced after the removal of high-fat, high-sugar diets [52,53] or reduced adiposity following lifestyle modifications (eating breakfast, avoiding sugar-sweetened beverages, decreasing processed foods rich in animal fat or lengthening meal duration, and implementing more exercise) [54]. Composition of the gut microbiota was significantly distinct from chow-fed rats immediately after either the adolescent CAF or SUG exposure period analyzed with PERMANOVA tests.…”

Early life Western diet-induced memory impairments and gut microbiome changes in female rats are long-lasting despite healthy dietary intervention

“…Our data show that gut microbial richness, as measured with the Shannon Index, is significantly reduced following early life CAF, but not SUG, diet, an outcome that was actually exacerbated following the healthy dietary intervention. This outcome is consistent with other studies in which microbial richness was reduced after the removal of high-fat, high-sugar diets (Fülling et al, 2020;McNamara et al, 2021) or reduced adiposity following lifestyle modifications (eating breakfast, avoiding sugar-sweetened beverages, decreasing processed foods rich in animal fat or lengthening meal duration, and implementing more exercise) (Cho, 2021). Composition of the gut microbiota was significantly distinct from controls immediately after either the adolescent CAF or SUG exposure period analyzed with PERMANOVA tests.…”

Supplementation with Lactiplantibacillus plantarum IMC 510 Modifies Microbiota Composition and Prevents Body Weight Gain Induced by Cafeteria Diet in Rats

“…The major contribution to the F/B ratio variations observed among the CAF and CAF+P groups during the experimental period was made by different proportions of the genus Muribaculum . The Muribaculum genus, belonging to Bacteroidales S24-7, is normally present in the healthy mouse gut microbiome [ 60 ], and it is known to decrease in mice during the consumption of the Western diet [ 61 ]; furthermore, Muribaculum is associated with the regulation of body weight and carbohydrate metabolism [ 60 , 62 ]. Interestingly, the probiotic supplementation could alleviate the decrease in this important species of bacteria and the family of bacteria it belongs to, influencing in a positive way the amount of energy available to its host.…”