Genomic atlas of Bifidobacterium infantis and B. longum informs infant probiotic design.
Shao Y, Wang S, Gichuki BM, Stares MD, Rozday TJ
Soil Health
Fiber-rich, plant-based diets common in lower-income countries shape which gut bacteria babies inherit — meaning the vegetables and grains grown in your region directly influence infant health from birth.
Tiny bacteria that live in babies' guts help them grow healthy and fight disease. Scientists discovered that these bacteria are very different depending on where in the world a baby is born, and that probiotic supplements made in wealthy countries may not help babies elsewhere. The bacteria in poorer regions seem specially adapted to diets rich in plant fibers, which changes how well they work.
Key Findings
A genomic atlas of over 4,000 genomes from 48 countries increased representation from low- and middle-income countries by 12- to 17-fold.
B. infantis dominates early-life gut microbiota in low- and middle-income countries but is rarely detected in high-income countries.
Natural B. infantis strains show extreme geographic stratification with predicted adaptations to local plant-glycan-rich diets and breast-milk-derived substrates.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Scientists built a global database of over 4,000 gut bacteria genomes from 48 countries to improve probiotics for babies. They found that the bacteria strains sold in wealthy countries may not work well for infants in poorer regions, where different bacteria dominate and diets differ.
Abstract Preview
Bifidobacterium longum and B. infantis are pioneer colonizers of the neonatal gut and are widely used as probiotics to support infant growth, development, and disease resistance. However, commercia...
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