Maternal fucosyltransferase 2 status affects the gut bifidobacterial communities of breastfed infants

Abstract

BackgroundIndividuals with inactive alleles of the fucosyltransferase 2 gene (FUT2; termed the ‘secretor’ gene) are common in many populations. Some members of the genus Bifidobacterium, common infant gut commensals, are known to consume 2′-fucosylated glycans found in the breast milk of secretor mothers. We investigated the effects of maternal secretor status on the developing infant microbiota with a special emphasis on bifidobacterial species abundance.ResultsOn average, bifidobacteria were established earlier and more often in infants fed by secretor mothers than in infants fed by non-secretor mothers. In secretor-fed infants, the relative abundance of the Bifidobacterium longum group was most strongly correlated with high percentages of the order Bifidobacteriales. Conversely, in non-secretor-fed infants, Bifidobacterium breve was positively correlated with Bifidobacteriales, while the B. longum group was negatively correlated. A higher percentage of bifidobacteria isolated from secretor-fed infants consumed 2′-fucosyllactose. Infant feces with high levels of bifidobacteria had lower milk oligosaccharide levels in the feces and higher amounts of lactate. Furthermore, feces containing different bifidobacterial species possessed differing amounts of oligosaccharides, suggesting differential consumption in situ.ConclusionsInfants fed by non-secretor mothers are delayed in the establishment of a bifidobacteria-laden microbiota. This delay may be due to difficulties in the infant acquiring a species of bifidobacteria able to consume the specific milk oligosaccharides delivered by the mother. This work provides mechanistic insight into how milk glycans enrich specific beneficial bacterial populations in infants and reveals clues for enhancing enrichment of bifidobacterial populations in at risk populations - such as premature infants.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40168-015-0071-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The role of early life nutrition in the establishment of gastrointestinal microbial composition and function

“…Therefore, differences in selectivity for certain HMOs likely contribute to variance among species of Bifidobacterium and Bacteroides isolated from feces of BF infants. Lewis et al 76 showed that bifidobacterial colonization was delayed in infants consuming HM from non-secretor mothers that is devoid of a particular type of HMO, 2-fucosyllactose (2FL), further supporting this theory regarding a possible origin for variations in Bifidobacterium observed among BF infants. This further leads to the question of how these HMOs interact with commensal bacteria residing in HM, and in turn, how this complex network of HM components functions in the n€ aive infant GI tract.…”

Causes of Impaired Oral Vaccine Efficacy in Developing Countries

“…This significantly impacts the quantity and quality of oligosaccharides found in breast milk [100], potentially modifying any direct or indirect effects of breastfeeding on oral vaccine efficacy. Ultimately, the HBGA status of a mother-infant pair may play a role in shaping infant microbiota composition [101,102], mucosal immune development and pathogen receptor expression (in breast milk, mucus and on intestinal epithelial cells), thereby influencing both pathogen susceptibility and oral vaccine outcomes. However, further work is required to disentangle these pathways.…”

Absolute Quantitation of Human Milk Oligosaccharides Reveals Phenotypic Variations during Lactation

“…The MRM chromatograms (Figure 2) illustrated the variations between secretor (gray) and nonsecretor (black) milk from the US lactation study. The mothers were genotyped using a saliva test (39). As shown, milk from secretor mothers contained much higher concentrations of a(1,2)-fucosylated HMOs such as 2#FL, LNFP I, lacto-difucotetraose (LDFT), trifucosyllacto-Nhexaose, and tetrafucosyl-iso-lacto-N-octaose than did milk from nonsecretors.…”