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Gut microbiomes from Gambian infants reveal the development of a non-industrialized Prevotella-based trophic network.

Published version
Peer-reviewed

Type

Article

Change log

Authors

de Goffau, Marcus C 
Jallow, Amadou T 
Sanyang, Chilel 
Meagher, Niamh 

Abstract

Distinct bacterial trophic networks exist in the gut microbiota of individuals in industrialized and non-industrialized countries. In particular, non-industrialized gut microbiomes tend to be enriched with Prevotella species. To study the development of these Prevotella-rich compositions, we investigated the gut microbiota of children aged between 7 and 37 months living in rural Gambia (616 children, 1,389 stool samples, stratified by 3-month age groups). These infants, who typically eat a high-fibre, low-protein diet, were part of a double-blind, randomized iron intervention trial (NCT02941081) and here we report the secondary outcome. We found that child age was the largest discriminating factor between samples and that anthropometric indices (collection time points, season, geographic collection site, and iron supplementation) did not significantly influence the gut microbiome. Prevotella copri, Faecalibacterium prausnitzii and Prevotella stercorea were, on average, the most abundant species in these 1,389 samples (35%, 11% and 7%, respectively). Distinct bacterial trophic network clusters were identified, centred around either P. stercorea or F. prausnitzii and were found to develop steadily with age, whereas P. copri, independently of other species, rapidly became dominant after weaning. This dataset, set within a critical gut microbial developmental time frame, provides insights into the development of Prevotella-rich gut microbiomes, which are typically understudied and are underrepresented in western populations.

Description

Funder: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Grand Challenges New Interventions in Global Health award


Funder: MRC Unit The Gambia/MRC International Nutrition Group by the UK MRC and the UK Department for the International Development

Keywords

Bacteria, Child, Preschool, Feces, Gambia, Gastrointestinal Microbiome, Humans, Infant, Prevotella, Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic, Rural Population

Journal Title

Nat Microbiol

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

2058-5276
2058-5276

Volume Title

7

Publisher

Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Sponsorship
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (OPP1140952)
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation) (OPP1140952)