title: Cultivating healthy growth and nutrition through the gut microbiota.
abstract: Microbiota assembly is perturbed in children with undernutrition, resulting in persistent microbiota immaturity that is not rescued by current nutritional interventions. Evidence is accumulating that this immaturity is causally related to the pathogenesis of undernutrition and its lingering sequelae. Preclinical models in which human gut communities are replicated in gnotobiotic mice have provided an opportunity to identify and predict the effects of different dietary ingredients on microbiota structure, expressed functions, and host biology. This capacity sets the stage for proof-of-concept tests designed to deliberately shape the developmental trajectory and configurations of microbiota in children representing different geographies, cultural traditions, and states of health. Developing these capabilities for microbial stewardship is timely given the global health burden of childhood undernutrition, the effects of changing eating practices brought about by globalization, and the realization that affordable nutritious foods need to be developed to enhance our capacity to cultivate healthier microbiota in populations at risk for poor nutrition.
authors: Center for Genome Sciences and Systems Biology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63108, USA; Center for Gut Microbiome and Nutrition Research, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63108, USA.
authors: Sathish
authors: S
authors: Subramanian
authors: Center for Genome Sciences and Systems Biology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63108, USA; Center for Gut Microbiome and Nutrition Research, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63108, USA.
authors: Laura V
authors: LV
authors: Blanton
authors: Departments of Food Science & Technology and Viticulture & Enology, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
authors: Steven A
authors: SA
authors: Frese
authors: Center for Genome Sciences and Systems Biology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63108, USA; Center for Gut Microbiome and Nutrition Research, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63108, USA.
authors: Mark
authors: M
authors: Charbonneau
authors: Departments of Food Science & Technology and Viticulture & Enology, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
authors: David A
authors: DA
authors: Mills
authors: Center for Genome Sciences and Systems Biology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63108, USA; Center for Gut Microbiome and Nutrition Research, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63108, USA. Electronic address: jgordon@wustl.edu.
authors: Jeffrey I
authors: JI
authors: Gordon
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D002664:Child Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D005260:Female; D041981:Gastrointestinal Tract / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D008431:Maternal-Fetal Exchange; D064307:Microbiota; D011247:Pregnancy