Faecal bifidobacteria in Indian neonates & the effect of asymptomatic rotavirus infection during the first month of life.
OBJECTIVE
Bifidobacteria colonize the gut after the first week of life and remain an important component of the gut microbiota in infancy. This study was carried out to characterize the diversity and number of bifidobacteria colonizing the gut in Indian neonates and to investigate whether asymptomatic infection with rotavirus in the first month of life affected gut colonization by bifidobacteria.


METHODS
DNA was isolated from faeces of 14 term-born neonates who were under surveillance for rotavirus infection. Bacterial and bifidobacterial diversity was evaluated by temporal temperature gradient electrophoresis (TTGE) of 16S rDNA amplified using total bacteria and bifidobacteria-specific primers. Real time PCR, targeting 16S rDNA, was used to quantitate faecal bifidobacteria and enterobacteria.


RESULTS
TTGE of conserved bacterial 16S rDNA showed 3 dominant bands of which Escherichia coli (family Enterobacteriaceae) and Bifidobacterium (family Bifidobacteriaceae) were constant. TTGE of Bifidobacterium genus-specific DNA showed a single band in all neonates identified by sequencing as Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis. Faecal bifidobacterial counts (log 10 cfu/g faeces) ranged from 6.1 to 9.3 and enterobacterial counts from 6.3 to 9.5. Neonates without and with rotavirus infection in the first week of life did not show significant differences in the median count of bifidobacteria (log 10 count 7.48 vs. 7.41) or enterobacteria (log 10 count 8.79 vs. 7.92).


CONCLUSIONS
B. longum subsp. infantis was the sole bifidobacterial species colonizing the gut of Indian neonates. Asymptomatic rotavirus infection in the first month of life was not associated with alteration in faecal bifidobacteria or enterobacteria.
Department of Gastrointestinal Sciences, Christian Medical College, Vellore, India.
Ramadass
R
Balamurugan
Fabien
F
Magne
Divya
D
Balakrishnan
Antonia
A
Suau
Sasirekha
S
Ramani
Gagandeep
G
Kang
Balakrishnan S
BS
Ramakrishna
D001644:Bifidobacterium / Q000235:genetics*; D044822:Biodiversity; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000235:genetics; D058645:Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology*; D041981:Gastrointestinal Tract / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D012400:Rotavirus Infections / Q000382:microbiology*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013045:Species Specificity; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric
D017931:DNA Primers; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal
Clin Diagn Lab Immunol. 2004 Jul;11(4):686-90
15242942
BMC Microbiol. 2009 Jun 09;9:123
19508720
J Med Virol. 2002 Jul;67(3):418-26
12116036
FEMS Microbiol Ecol. 2006 Jul;57(1):128-38
16819956
FEMS Microbiol Ecol. 2006 Jan;55(1):28-37
16420612
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008 Dec 2;105(48):18964-9
19033196
Appl Environ Microbiol. 2005 May;71(5):2318-24
15870317
J Clin Microbiol. 2002 Apr;40(4):1534-7
11923390
J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2008 May;46(5):514-9
18493205
Pediatr Infect Dis J. 2008 Aug;27(8):719-23
18600189
Lancet. 1994 Oct 15;344(8929):1046-9
7934445
Pediatr Res. 2002 Jun;51(6):750-5
12032272
Pediatrics. 2006 Aug;118(2):511-21
16882802
J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2008 May;46(5):580-8
18493215
FEMS Microbiol Ecol. 2010 Sep;73(3):601-10
20579100
J Med Virol. 2008 Jun;80(6):1099-105
18428133
J Med Assoc Thai. 1999 Nov;82 Suppl 1:S43-8
10730517
J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 1997 Sep;25(3):281-9
9285378
Eur J Nutr. 2002 Nov;41 Suppl 1:I32-7
12420114
Appl Environ Microbiol. 2009 May;75(9):2668-76
19286790
Clin Exp Allergy. 2007 Dec;37(12):1764-72
17941914
J Clin Microbiol. 2007 Nov;45(11):3824-7
17728476
Appl Environ Microbiol. 2001 Feb;67(2):504-13
11157210
Am J Clin Nutr. 2002 Nov;76(5):1117-25
12399288
Asia Pac J Clin Nutr. 2008;17(1):30-4
18364323