Reference
Tamana, S. K., Tun, H. M., Konya, T., Chari, R. S., Field, C. J., Guttman, D. S., Becker, A. B., Moraes, T. J., Turvey, S. E., Subbarao, P., Sears, M. R., Pei, J., Scott, J. A., Mandhane, P. J., & Kozyrskyj, A. L. (2021). Bacteroides-dominant gut microbiome of late infancy is associated with enhanced neurodevelopment. Gut Microbes, 13(1), 1930875. https://doi.org/10.1080/19490976.2021.1930875
Review
The article by Tamana et al. (2021) investigates the association between gut microbiota and early neurodevelopment in infants. The authors analyzed data from 405 infants from the Canadian Healthy Infant Longitudinal Development (CHILD) Cohort Study, using the Bayley Scale of Infant Development (BSID-III) to assess neurodevelopmental outcomes at 1 and 2 years of age. Fecal samples were collected at a mean age of 4 and 12 months for microbiota profiling using 16S rRNA gene sequencing.
The study identified three infant groups based on the relative abundance of gut microbiota at 12 months: Proteobacteria-dominant, Firmicutes-dominant, and Bacteroidetes-dominant clusters. The Bacteroidetes-dominant cluster demonstrated a significant positive association with cognitive, language, and motor development scores at age 2, particularly among male infants. The genus Bacteroides abundance in gut microbiota was positively correlated with cognitive and language scores at age 2. The study found no associations between 4-month microbiota clusters and BSID-II scores.
Tamana et al. (2021) suggest that Bacteroidetes-dominant gut microbiota in late infancy is associated with better neurodevelopment, particularly in males. Enhanced sphingolipid synthesis and metabolism, as well as antagonism or competition between Bacteroides and Streptococcus, were characteristic of Bacteroidetes-dominant gut microbiota. This study contributes valuable insights into the gut-brain connection and the potential impact of gut microbiota on early neurodevelopment.
