The early life microbiota mediates maternal effects on offspring growth in a nonhuman primate
Lauren Petrullo,
Alice Baniel,
Matthew J. Jorgensen,
Sierra Sams,
Noah Snyder-Mackler,
Amy Lu
Affiliations
Lauren Petrullo
Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; Corresponding author
Alice Baniel
Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA; School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
Matthew J. Jorgensen
Department of Pathology, Section on Comparative Medicine, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27157, USA
Sierra Sams
Paragon Genomics, Hayward, CA 94545, USA; Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
Noah Snyder-Mackler
Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA; School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA; Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
Amy Lu
Department of Anthropology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA
Summary: Maternal parity can impact offspring growth, but the mechanisms driving this effect are unclear. Here, we test the hypothesis that vertically transmitted microbiota may be one potential mechanism. We analyzed 118 fecal and milk samples from mother-offspring vervet monkey dyads across the first 6 months of life. Despite poorer milk production, offspring born to low parity females grew larger than their counterparts. These offspring exhibited reduced alpha diversity in the first days of life, stronger seeding of maternal milk microbiota, Bacteroides fragilis dominance, and a greater abundance of glycan utilization pathways. Moreover, the attainment of greater body mass by 6 months of age was mediated by reduced early life alpha diversity and B. fragilis dominance. This work demonstrates that the establishment of a specialized, milk-oriented gut microbiota promotes infant growth and suggests an evolutionarily conserved developmental role of B. fragilis in primates.
