Meconium microbiota profiling in the LIMIT cohort using long-read 16S rRNA sequencing
Early gut microbiota development is thought to influence lifelong human health, and meconium provides a unique window into prenatal microbial exposures. Within the LIMIT cohort, we investigated whether maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI), gestational weight gain (GWG), and additional lifestyle or environmental factors are associated with the microbial composition of neonatal meconium. Two hundred pregnant women were enrolled at Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo (Pavia, Italy), and 168 meconium samples were obtained at delivery. DNA was extracted and the bacterial 16S rRNA gene variable regions V1–V8 were amplified and sequenced using long-read technology on the Oxford Nanopore PromethION platform.