The Journal of Pediatrics
Volume 154, Issue 3 , Page 400, March 2009

50 Years Ago in The Journal of Pediatrics:

The Acquisition of Fecal Flora by Infants From Their Mothers During Birth

Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, Canada Research Chair in Gastrointestinal Disease, Toronto, Canada

Article Outline

 

Gareau FE, MAckel DC, Boring JR III, Payne FJ, Hammett FL. J Pediatr 1959;54:313-8

This article describes culturing and serotyping of Escherichia coli and Klebsiella from stools obtained during the first 3 days of life from 20 newborns and their mothers. Comparable strains were present in both mother and child, leading the authors to conclude that intestinal bacteria are derived from the intestinal microbiome of the mother.

Knowledge about the composition of the gut microbiota has been advanced by using molecular techniques to define resident organisms.1 We now know that most organisms present in the intestine cannot be grown with standard culture techniques. A study of 3 healthy Canadian adults was the first to use molecular approaches to characterize the human intestinal microbiome.2 A subsequent study of the colonic microbiota of 7 members from 1 family in China highlighted differences in the resident microflora compared with those found in Canadians.3

A detailed molecular analysis of the developing gut flora in human infants is limited to 1 study, which evaluated microbes present in stools obtained from 14 healthy babies obtained sequentially every 2 weeks during the first year of life.4 The microbiota varied considerably between each of the infants and showed marked changes in composition with time. A complete cataloguing of the resident microflora of the gut, oral cavity, skin, and vagina is an overriding aim of international microbiome projects.5 Results of these multinational research efforts are sure to advance current understanding of the role of prokaryotes in human health and disease.6

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References 

  1. Medini D, Serruto D, Parkhill J, et al. Microbiology in the post-genomic era. Nature Rev Microbiol. 2008;6:419–430
  2. Eckburg PB, Bik EM, Bernstein CN, et al. Diversity of the human intestinal microbial flora. Science. 2005;308:1635–1638
  3. Li M, Wang B, Zhang M, et al. Symbiotic gut microbes modulate human metabolic phenotypes. Proc Natl Acad Sci (USA). 2008;105:2117–2122
  4. Palmer C, Bik EM, DiGiulio DB, Relman DA, Brown PO. Development of the human infant intestinal microbiota. PLoS Biology. 2007;5:1556–1573
  5. Mullard A. Human microbiome: the inside story. Nature. 2008;453:578–580
  6. Jia W, Li H, Zhao L, Nicholson JK. Gut microbiota: a potential new territory for drug targeting. Nature Rev Drug Discovery. 2008;7:123–129

PII: S0022-3476(08)00723-3

doi:10.1016/j.jpeds.2008.08.043

The Journal of Pediatrics
Volume 154, Issue 3 , Page 400, March 2009

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