title: Longitudinal Analysis of the Intestinal Microbiota in Persistently Stunted Young Children in South India.
abstract: Stunting or reduced linear growth is very prevalent in low-income countries. Recent studies have demonstrated a causal relationship between alterations in the gut microbiome and moderate or severe acute malnutrition in children in these countries. However, there have been no primary longitudinal studies comparing the intestinal microbiota of persistently stunted children to that of non-stunted children in the same community. In this pilot study, we characterized gut microbial community composition and diversity of the fecal microbiota of 10 children with low birth weight and persistent stunting (cases) and 10 children with normal birth weight and no stunting (controls) from a birth cohort every 3 months up to 2 years of age in a slum community in south India. There was an increase in diversity indices (P <0.0001) with increasing age in all children. However, there were no differences in diversity indices or in the rates of their increase with increasing age between cases and controls. The percent relative abundance of the Bacteroidetes phylum was higher in stunted compared to control children at 12 months of age (P = 0.043). There was an increase in the relative abundance of this phylum with increasing age in all children (P = 0.0380) with no difference in the rate of increase between cases and controls. There was a decrease in the relative abundance of Proteobacteria (P = 0.0004) and Actinobacteria (P = 0.0489) with increasing age in cases. The microbiota of control children was enriched in probiotic species Bifidobacterium longum and Lactobacillus mucosae, whereas that of stunted children was enriched in inflammogenic taxa including those in the Desulfovibrio genus and Campylobacterales order. Larger, longitudinal studies on the compositional and functional maturation of the microbiome in children are needed.
authors.affiliation: Division of Geographic Medicine and Infectious Diseases, Tufts Medical Center, Boston, MA, United States of America.|Departments of Public Health and Community Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States of America.
authors.forename: Duy M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Dinh
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastrointestinal Sciences, Christian Medical College, Vellore, India.
authors.forename: Balamurugan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ramadass
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastrointestinal Sciences, Christian Medical College, Vellore, India.
authors.forename: Deepthi
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kattula
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastrointestinal Sciences, Christian Medical College, Vellore, India.
authors.forename: Rajiv
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sarkar
authors.affiliation: Department of Computer Sciences, Tufts University School of Engineering, Medford, MA, United States of America.
authors.forename: Philip
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Braunstein
authors.affiliation: Department of Integrative Physiology and Pathobiology, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States of America.
authors.forename: Albert
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tai
authors.affiliation: Division of Geographic Medicine and Infectious Diseases, Tufts Medical Center, Boston, MA, United States of America.|Departments of Public Health and Community Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States of America.|Department of Gastrointestinal Sciences, Christian Medical College, Vellore, India.
authors.forename: Christine A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Wanke
authors.affiliation: Department of Computer Sciences, Tufts University School of Engineering, Medford, MA, United States of America.
authors.forename: Soha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hassoun
authors.affiliation: Division of Geographic Medicine and Infectious Diseases, Tufts Medical Center, Boston, MA, United States of America.
authors.forename: Anne V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Kane
authors.affiliation: Departments of Public Health and Community Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States of America.|Department of Gastrointestinal Sciences, Christian Medical College, Vellore, India.|Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University, Boston, MA, United States of America.
authors.forename: Elena N
authors.initials: EN
authors.lastname: Naumova
authors.affiliation: Departments of Public Health and Community Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States of America.|Department of Integrative Physiology and Pathobiology, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States of America.
authors.forename: Gagandeep
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.affiliation: Division of Geographic Medicine and Infectious Diseases, Tufts Medical Center, Boston, MA, United States of America.|Departments of Public Health and Community Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States of America.|Department of Gastrointestinal Sciences, Christian Medical College, Vellore, India.
authors.forename: Honorine D
authors.initials: HD
authors.lastname: Ward
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D000069196:Gastrointestinal Microbiome; D006130:Growth Disorders / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male