| description |
Oligosaccharides from breast milk are believed to help shape the infant intestinal microbiota through their ability to feed specific bacterial groups, in particular Bifidobacterium. In a subset of mothers the fucosyltransferase 2 (“secretor”) gene is mutationally inactivated, which leads to milk lacking 2’ fucosylated glycans and was previously shown to impact microbial colonization of the neonate gut. Similarly, infants may receive distinct individual bacterial exposures which influence their gut communities over time. Here we study the infant gut microbiota through a longitudinal study on cohorts of breast-fed infants from the neighboring countries of Armenia and Georgia. Marker gene sequencing of 16S ribosomal genes revealed that the gut microbial communities of infants from these countries were dominated by bifidobacteria, were different from each other, and were marginally influenced by their mother’s secretor status. Species-level differences in the bifidobacterial communities of each country and birth method were also observed. These community differences suggest that environmental variation between individuals in different locations may influence the gut microbiota of infants, possibly through selection or seeding differences. |