The Abundance of Human Milk Oligosaccharide (HMO)-Metabolizing Genes in Fecal Samples from Six-Month-Old Human Infants

Abstract

Herein, we report the abundance and prevalence of HMO-metabolizing genes, specifically those of Bifidobacterium infantis, in fecal samples from human infants. Forty dyads were enrolled, and each mother collected a fecal sample from her infant at six months of age. Genomic DNA was extracted, and quantitative real-time PCR was used to determine gene abundance. The mode of delivery was not associated with gene abundance. Several gene regions, Sia (a sialidase), B. inf (16S), and GH750 (a glycoside hydrolase), were more abundant in the feces of human milk-fed infants (p p p p < 0.10) gene regions. With further development and validation in additional populations of infants, these assays could be used to group samples by dietary exposure even where no record of dietary intake exists. Thus, these assays would provide a method by which infant human milk intake can be assessed quickly in any well-equipped molecular biology laboratory.

Keywords

• human milk oligosaccharides
• <i>Actinobacteria</i>
• <i>Bifidobacterium infantis</i>
• breastfeeding
• human milk
• infants