Maternal Dietary Protein Intake Influences Milk and Offspring Gut Microbial Diversity in a Rat (Rattus norvegicus) Model.

ABSTRACT: Historically, investigators have assumed microorganisms identified in mother's milk to be contaminants, but recent data suggest that milk microbiota may contribute to beneficial maternal effects. Microorganisms that colonize the gastrointestinal tracts of newborn mammals are derived, at least in part, from the maternal microbial population. Milk-derived microbiota is an important source of this microbial inocula and we hypothesized that the maternal diet contributes to variation in this microbial community. To evaluate the relationship between a mother's diet and milk microbiome, we fed female rats a low- or high-protein diet and mated all individuals. Milk and cecal contents were collected from dams at peak lactation (14-day post-partum), and the bacterial composition of each community wa

SUBMITTER: Warren MF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6769776 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature