A cross-sectional comparative study of gut bacterial community of Indian and Finnish children

Abstract

The human gut microbiome plays a crucial role in the compositional development of gut microbiota. Though well documented in western pediatrics population, little is known about how various host conditions affect populations in different geographic locations such as the Indian subcontinent. Given the impact of distinct environmental conditions, our study assess the gut bacterial diversity of a small cohort of Indian and Finnish children and investigated the influence of FUT2 secretor status and birth mode on the gut microbiome of these populations. Using multiple profiling techniques, we show that the gut bacterial community structure in 13–14-year-old Indian (n = 47) and Finnish (n = 52) children differs significantly. Specifically, Finnish children possessed higher Blautia and Bifidobacterium, while genera Prevotella and Megasphaera were predominant in Indian children. Our study also demonstrates a strong influence of FUT2 and birth mode variants on specific gut bacterial taxa, influence of which was noticed to differ between the two populations under study.

Breast Milk Microbiota Is Shaped by Mode of Delivery and Intrapartum Antibiotic Exposure

“…The clinical significance of these findings obtained from a relatively small number of subjects is open to debate since the role of the bacteria in breast milk in mediating the beneficial effects of breastfeeding or determining the child's health remains poorly understood. Nonetheless, we and others have reported that the mode of birth markedly influences the developing gut microbiota both in the neonatal period and later in childhood (19–21). This may at least partially explain the epidemiological association between birth by cesarean section and increased incidence of non-communicable diseases later in life (22).…”

Bacteria in the ageing gut: did the taming of fire promote a long human lifespan?

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“…As a consequence, this may have a strong impact on the clustering of microbiomes into genomes belonging to specific species and even individual strains that interact with the corresponding surfaces, a fact that has seldom been taken into account. Indeed, a recent study found a strong influence of the secretor status in widely different populations (Kumbhare et al ., ). All this casts doubt on the validity of the interpretations stemming from a major fraction of microbiome studies.…”

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