LAUSR.org creates dashboard-style pages of related content for over 1.5 million academic articles. Sign Up to like articles & get recommendations!

Bifidobacteria and the infant gut: an example of co-evolution and natural selection

Photo from archive.org

Throughout the human life, the gut microbiota interacts with us in a number of different ways, thereby influencing our health status. The acquisition of such an interactive gut microbiota commences… Click to show full abstract

Throughout the human life, the gut microbiota interacts with us in a number of different ways, thereby influencing our health status. The acquisition of such an interactive gut microbiota commences at birth. Medical and environmental factors including diet, antibiotic exposure and mode of delivery are major factors that shape the composition of the microbial communities in the infant gut. Among the most abundant members of the infant microbiota are species belonging to the Bifidobacterium genus, which are believed to confer beneficial effects upon their host. Bifidobacteria may be acquired directly from the mother by vertical transmission and their persistence in the infant gut is associated with their saccharolytic activity toward glycans that are abundant in the infant gut. Here, we discuss the establishment of the infant gut microbiota and the contribution of bifidobacteria to this early life microbial consortium.

Keywords: gut example; gut; infant gut; bifidobacteria infant; gut microbiota

Journal Title: Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences
Year Published: 2017

Link to full text (if available)


Share on Social Media:                               Sign Up to like & get
recommendations!

Related content

More Information              News              Social Media              Video              Recommended



                Click one of the above tabs to view related content.