The Effect of Breast Milk Microbiota on the Composition of Infant Gut Microbiota: A Cohort Study

Abstract

Evidence shows that breast milk microbiota and an infant’s gut microbiota are related. This study aimed to compare the effects of breast milk microbiota on the construction and colonization of gut microbiota in newborns. In this study, 23 healthy infants were selected and divided into a breastfeeding group (13) and a mixed feeding group (10) based on the feeding method within one month of age. Infant fecal and breast milk samples were collected on the day of birth (0 day) and 30 days after birth (30 days) for 16S rRNA second-generation sequencing and SCFA detection. The results showed that Firmicutes and Actinobacteriota on day 0 and Firmicutes and Proteobacteria on 30 d dominated breast milk gut microbiota. There were correlations between the breast milk microbiota and the infant gut microbiota in each group (p Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, and Enterobacter. However, the effect of breast milk microbiota on infant gut microbiota is not through direct strain transmission but has been indirectly influenced, which may be related to the cross-feeding effect mediated by SCFAs.

Keywords

• infant
• gut microbiota
• breastfeeding
• SCFAs