Bangladeshi infant gut microbiota
The establishment of the gut microbiota in early life is fundamental to lifelong health, yet this process remains poorly explored outside Western and high-income settings. We investigated microbial maturation in a non-Western context, by longitudinally characterizing the gut microbiota of 20 healthy infants from urban Bangladesh (n = 984 fecal samples) across the first two years of life. Microbiota development followed a three-staged successional pattern characterized by a progressive increase of microbiota diversity, closely resembling patterns described in Western populations. Comparative analysis with a Belgian infant cohort showed broadly conserved maturation dynamics but population-specific differences in core bacteria, including Segatella, which was characteristic to Bangladeshi infants. Segatella's role in the developing gut remains unclear, as high abundances were associated with disease in this cohort. Transient disruptions in maturation also coincided with episodes of illness. The second year of this cohort coincided with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic where differences in the relative abundance of several key taxa were detected. These insights expand our understanding of healthy infant gut microbiota development across populations and emphasize the need to consider sociocultural and environmental factors, including global disruptions, in shaping early-life microbial ecosystems.
The establishment of the gut microbiota in early life is fundamental to lifelong health, yet this process remains poorly explored outside Western and high-income settings. We investigated microbial maturation in a non-Western context, by longitudinally characterizing the gut microbiota of 20 healthy infants from urban Bangladesh (n = 984 fecal samples) across the first two years of life. Microbiota development followed a three-staged successional pattern characterized by a progressive increase of microbiota diversity, closely resembling patterns described in Western populations. Comparative analysis with a Belgian infant cohort showed broadly conserved maturation dynamics but population-specific differences in core bacteria, including Segatella, which was characteristic to Bangladeshi infants. Segatella's role in the developing gut remains unclear, as high abundances were associated with disease in this cohort. Transient disruptions in maturation also coincided with episodes of illness. The second year of this cohort coincided with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic where differences in the relative abundance of several key taxa were detected. These insights expand our understanding of healthy infant gut microbiota development across populations and emphasize the need to consider sociocultural and environmental factors, including global disruptions, in shaping early-life microbial ecosystems.