Characterizing the gastrointestinal microbiome of breastfeeding mothers

Janae N. Mosely

The human gastrointestinal (GI) microbiome has been connected to health status and is currently being studied to further understand influences on GI microbiota and implications for health. The primary aims of this study were to characterize the GI microbiome of a little-studied population, lactating women, and determine the relationships between nutritional status and bacterial community structure during lactation. Bacterial 16S rRNA was extracted from fecal samples collected from 20 lactating women at d 2, 5, 10 and mo 1 - 6 postpartum and sequenced using Illumina technology to determine relative community structure. Most-abundant bacteria by percent abundance were identified at the phylum, class, order, family, and genus taxonomic levels; statistical analyses were performed at the phylum taxonomic level to determine relationships between anthropometric/environmental variables (e.g., diet, BMI, birth method, birth location) and bacterial community structure. The top bacterial taxon revealed a unique and for each subject over time. Non-metric multidimensional scaling plots (NMDS), canonical correlation analyses (CCA), and multivariate analysis (MANOVA) overall found no association of diet or other biological variables on bacterial community structure. Correlations analyses revealed many potential associations between various dietary components and percent abundance v of some bacteria; for instance vitamin B12 intake was negatively associated with percent abundance of Bacteroides. Diet or anthropometric factors were determined to have little to no relationship with overall, complex bacterial community structure. However, prepregnancy BMI was related to relative abundance of Firmicutes. In addition, our data provide preliminary evidence that variation in dietary constituents may influence community structure of less-abundant bacteria. In conclusion, the complex bacterial community structure in feces was difficult to relate to dietary patterns, with few strong relationships found between nutrients and bacterial commnity membership.

Characterizing the gastrointestinal microbiome of breastfeeding mothers

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