Adaptation of the infant gut microbiome during the complementary feeding transition

PLoS One. 2022 Jul 14;17(7):e0270213. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0270213. eCollection 2022.

Abstract

The infant gut microbiome progresses in composition and function during the introduction of solid foods throughout the first year of life. The purpose of this study was to characterize changes in healthy infant gut microbiome composition, metagenomic functional capacity, and associated metabolites over the course of the complementary feeding period. Fecal samples were obtained at three 'snapshot' timepoints from infants participating in the 'Nourish to Flourish' pilot study: before the introduction of solid foods at approximately 4 months of age, after introducing solid foods at 9 months of age, and after continued diet diversification at 12 months of age. KEGG and taxonomy assignments were correlated with LC-MS metabolomic profiles to identify patterns of co-abundance. The composition of the microbiome diversified during the first year of life, while the functional capacity present in the gut microbiome remained stable. The introduction of solid foods between 4 and 9 months of age corresponded to a larger magnitude of change in relative abundance of sequences assigned to KEGG pathways and taxonomic assignments, as well as to stronger correlations with metabolites, compared to the magnitude of changes and number of correlations seen during continued diet diversification between 9 and 12 months of age. Changes in aqueous fecal metabolites were more strongly correlated with KEGG pathway assignments, while changes in lipid metabolites associated with taxonomic assignments, particularly between 9 and 12 months of age. This study establishes trends in microbiome composition and functional capacity occurring during the complementary feeding period and identifies potential metabolite targets for future investigations.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Feces
  • Gastrointestinal Microbiome*
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena
  • Metagenome
  • Pilot Projects

Grants and funding

SM was funded for a PhD scholarship for this study by the New Zealand Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment as part of the High Value Nutrition National Science Challenge. https://www.mbie.govt.nz/science-and-technology/science-and-innovation/funding-information-and-opportunities/investment-funds/national-science-challenges/ The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.