Succession of Bifidobacterium longum strains in response to a changing early life nutritional environment reveals dietary substrate adaptations

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Kujawska, M., La Rosa, S.L., Roger, L.C., Pope, P.B., Hoyles, L. ORCID: 0000-0002-6418-342X, McCartney, A.L. and Hall, L.J., 2020. Succession of Bifidobacterium longum strains in response to a changing early life nutritional environment reveals dietary substrate adaptations. iScience. ISSN 2589-0042

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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2020.101368

Abstract

Diet-microbe interactions play a crucial role in modulation of the early life microbiota and infant health. Bifidobacterium dominates the breast-fed infant gut and may persist in individuals during transition from a milk-based to a more diversified diet. Here, we investigated adaptation of B. longum to the changing nutritional environment. Genomic characterisation of 75 strains isolated from nine either exclusively breast- or formula-fed (pre-weaning) infants in their first 18 months revealed subspecies- and strain-specific intra-individual genomic diversity with respect to carbohydrate metabolism, which corresponded to different dietary stages. Complementary phenotypic studies indicated strain-specific differences in utilisation of human milk oligosaccharides and plant carbohydrates, while proteomic profiling identified gene clusters involved in metabolism of selected carbohydrates. Our results indicate a strong link between infant diet and B. longum diversity and provide additional insights into possible competitive advantage mechanisms of this Bifidobacterium species and its persistence in a single host.

Item Type:

Journal article

Publication Title:

iScience

Creators:

Kujawska, M., La Rosa, S.L., Roger, L.C., Pope, P.B., Hoyles, L., McCartney, A.L. and Hall, L.J.

Publisher:

Cell Press

Date:

14 July 2020

ISSN:

2589-0042