Mother’s Genes Influence Baby’s Bacteria

A breast milk-associated gene mutation impacts the establishment of a newborn’s gut microbiome, a study suggests.

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WIKIMEDIA

Low levels of the human breast milk sugar that feeds the beneficial gut microbe Bifidobacterium result in slower colonization of a baby’s intestines by the bacterium, according to a study published last week (April 9) in Microbiome.

Bifidobacterium, one of the first varieties of microbes to grow in a newborn’s digestive tract, are thought to help prevent infection by lowering the pH of the gut, creating a hostile environment for pathogens. The bacterium’s preferred food source is a breast milk sugar that is made in part by the product of the FUT2 gene. Twenty percent of women carry a mutation in the gene that lowers levels of the sugar in their milk.

To investigate the impact of the FUT2 gene mutation on a baby’s microbiome, ...

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