Gut feeling for bacterial variations in Europe's babies
Intestinal microbiota can play a major role in the health of an individual. They make vitamins, are involved in immunity and allergy, prevent growth of harmful microbes, ferment fibre and, from a negative point of view can be instrumental in cancer development. From, and even at birth, gut flora are a highly variable and dynamic population. Scientists from the EU funded project INFABIO researched into exactly how the faecal inhabitants of the human gut exert their influence - the mechanisms and risk factors involved. The countries involved were northern latitude Sweden, Scotland and Germany going further to the south with Italy and Spain. Specifically, babies from birth to six weeks of age were sampled for faecal bacteria by consortium members at INRA in France. The team's aim was to determine the influence of delivery method, breast or formula feeding, maternal antibiotic treatment during pregnancy and weaning on the child's intestinal bacterial makeup. Geographical influence was also determined. Faecal samples from over 600 infants were analysed using fluorescent in situ hybridisation together with flow cytometry (FISH-FC). Ten ribosomal RNA oligonucleotide group and species-specific probes were used to identify the microbes. Overall, there were large differences in microbial flora between the north and south which persisted from pre- through to the post-weaning period. Northern countries were characterised by high Bifidobacteria while southern regions displayed higher diversity and a larger proportion of Bacteroides. Breast feeding versus formula had a significant effect which continued to manifest itself after weaning. Interestingly, means of delivery was also found to exert a significant influence. Vaginal delivery favoured Bacteroides as did breast feeding. As would be expected, use of antibiotics had an effect both for the infant and the pregnant mother. However, there was no evidence of the continued impact of antibiotic use after weaning. Data from this study shows that from conception, lifestyle and feeding can have a major impact on the general health of a nation. Based on this study, recommendations on diet and feeding policy can be supplied to practitioners, the food industry and the public at large.
