Effects of Different Human Milk Oligosaccharides on Growth of Bifidobacteria in Monoculture and Co-culture With Faecalibacterium prausnitzii

Abstract

Human milk oligosaccharides (hMOs) are important bioactive components in mother's milk contributing to infant health by supporting colonization and growth of gut microbes. In particular, Bifidobacterium genus is considered to be supported by hMOs. Approximately 200 different hMOs have been discovered and characterized, but only a few abundant hMOs can be produced in sufficient amounts to be applied in infant formula. These hMOs are usually supplied in infant formula as single molecule, and it is unknown which and how individual hMOs support growth of individual gut bacteria. To investigate how individual hMOs influence growth of several relevant intestinal bacteria species, we studied the effects of three hMOs (2 -fucosyllactose, 3-fucosyllactose, and 6 -sialyllactose) and an hMO acid hydrolysate (lacto-N-triose) on three Bifidobacteria and one Faecalibacterium and introduced a co-culture system of two bacterial strains to study possible cross-feeding in presence and absence of hMOs. We observed that in monoculture, Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis could grow well on all hMOs but in a structure-dependent way. Faecalibacterium prausnitzii reached a lower cell density on the hMOs in stationary phase compared to glucose, while B. longum subsp. longum and Bifidobacterium adolescentis were not able to grow on the tested hMOs. In a coculture of B. longum subsp. infantis with F. prausnitzii, different effects were observed with the different hMOs; 6 -sialyllactose, rather than 2 -fucosyllactose, 3-fucosyllactose, and lacto-N-triose, was able to promote the growth of B. longum subsp. infantis. Our observations demonstrate that effects of hMOs on the tested gut microbiota are hMO-specific and provide new means to support growth of these specific beneficial microorganisms in the intestine.

Impact of 2′-Fucosyllactose on Gut Microbiota Composition in Adults with Chronic Gastrointestinal Conditions: Batch Culture Fermentation Model and Pilot Clinical Trial Findings

“…infantis and F. prausnitzii are co-cultured in the presence of 2′-FL, these bacteria grow faster in co-culture than in monocultures in the presence of 2′-FL. The in vitro results reported by Cheng et al [ 78 ] are in alignment with our observed simultaneous increase in the species B. longum and the butyrate producer F. prausnitzii in human subjects. Furthermore, our previous work and that of other groups have also demonstrated that prebiotics can simultaneously increase stool counts of Bifidobacterium and F. prausnitzii in adult subjects [ 79 , 80 ].…”

“…Although changes in F. prausnitzii were not noted in our in vitro experiments, an increase in Eubacterium rectale / Clostridium coocoides , other main butyrate producer group, was detected. Interestingly, Cheng et al [ 78 ] recently reported that when B. longum subsp. infantis and F. prausnitzii are co-cultured in the presence of 2′-FL, these bacteria grow faster in co-culture than in monocultures in the presence of 2′-FL.…”

Distinct fermentation of human milk oligosaccharides 3-FL and LNT2 and GOS/inulin by infant gut microbiota and impact on adhesion ofLactobacillus plantarumWCFS1 to gut epithelial cells

“…infantis, B. longum subsp. bifidum, and B. breve strains, [37][38][39] while only certain B. longum subsp. longum strain such as B. longum subsp.…”

“…longum cannot ferment 3-FL, which was also observed in a recent study. 37 The fermentation of fucosylated hMOs by bifidobacteria is subspecies and strain specific, i.e., they were commonly utilized by B. longum subsp. infantis, B. longum subsp.…”

Ecological Adaptations of Gut Microbiota Members and Their Consequences for Use as a New Generation of Probiotics

“…The principles of such resistance are not fully understood, although in some Actinobacteria, spore formation similar to that in Clostridia has been described [ 49 ]. Similar to Lactobacilli , Bifidobacteria also prefer carbohydrate catabolism [ 50 ] followed by a decrease of pH in their environment, thus suppressing multiplication of competitive microbiota. Unlike Lactobacilli , Bifidobacterium can colonize the chicken caecum after a single dose administration [ 32 ].…”