Gut microbiota genome features associated with brain injury in extremely premature infants
David Seki,
Rasmus Kirkegaard,
Jay Osvatic,
Bela Hausmann,
Joana Séneca,
Petra Pjevac,
Angelika Berger,
Lindsay J Hall,
Lukas Wisgrill,
David Berry
Affiliations
David Seki
Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science, Department of Microbiology and Ecosystem Science, Division of Microbial Ecology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
Rasmus Kirkegaard
Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science, Department of Microbiology and Ecosystem Science, Division of Microbial Ecology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
Jay Osvatic
Joint Microbiome Facility of the Medical University of Vienna and the University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
Bela Hausmann
Joint Microbiome Facility of the Medical University of Vienna and the University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
Joana Séneca
Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science, Department of Microbiology and Ecosystem Science, Division of Microbial Ecology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
Petra Pjevac
Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science, Department of Microbiology and Ecosystem Science, Division of Microbial Ecology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
Angelika Berger
Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Division of Neonatology, Pediatric Intensive Care and Neuropediatrics, Comprehensive Center for Pediatrics. Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
Lindsay J Hall
Intestinal Microbiome, School of Life Sciences, ZIEL - Institute for Food & Health, Technical University of Munich, Freising, Germany
Lukas Wisgrill
Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Division of Neonatology, Pediatric Intensive Care and Neuropediatrics, Comprehensive Center for Pediatrics. Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
David Berry
Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science, Department of Microbiology and Ecosystem Science, Division of Microbial Ecology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
Severe brain damage is common among premature infants, and the gut microbiota has been implicated in its pathology. Although the order of colonizing bacteria is well described, the mechanisms underlying aberrant assembly of the gut microbiota remain elusive. Here, we employed long-read nanopore sequencing to assess abundances of microbial species and their functional genomic potential in stool samples from a cohort of 30 extremely premature infants. We identify several key microbial traits significantly associated with severe brain damage, such as the genomic potential for nitrate respiration and iron scavenging. Members of the Enterobacteriaceae were prevalent across the cohort and displayed a versatile metabolic potential, including pathogenic and nonpathogenic traits. Predominance of Enterobacter hormaechei and Klebsiella pneumoniae were associated with an overall loss of genomic functional redundancy as well as poor neurophysiological outcome. These findings reveal microbial traits that may be involved in exacerbating brain injury in extremely premature infants and provide suitable targets for therapeutic interventions.
