This study reveals age and seasonality as major factors driving the composition of the nasal microbiota within the first year of life. A subject's microbiota is personalized but dynamic throughout the first year. These data are indispensable to interpretation of cross-sectional studies and investigation of the role of the microbiota in both healthy subjects and patients with respiratory diseases. They might also serve as a baseline for future intervention studies.

No abstract

Swiss National Science Foundation, Swiss Society of Intensive Care, Bangerter Foundation, Vinetum and Borer Foundation, and Foundation for the Health of Children and Adolescents.