Gut microbiota development, antibiotic resistome, and related perinatal factors in early infancy

Abstract

Gut microbiota plays an important role in various aspects of human health. Early life is a critical period for the development of gut microbiota. In this prospective study, we observed that the diversity and antibiotic resistance genes of gut microbiota increased gradually with age in the first 6 months of life. Boys and girls had similar features of gut microbiota. Cesarean section was associated with a lower abundance of Bacteroidetes phylum and Bacteroides genus. Compared with non-ART infants (spontaneous conception), ART infants had slightly higher alpha diversity indexes of ACE, Chao, Sobs, Shannon, and Pielou’s evenness at age 42 days among infants born by vaginal delivery. This study presents gut microbiota development with age, antibiotic resistome, and related perinatal factors in early infancy.