Optimisation and Application of a Novel Method to Identify Bacteriophages in Maternal Milk and Infant Stool Identifies Host-Phage Communities Within Preterm Infant Gut.

ABSTRACT: Human milk oligosaccharides, proteins, such as lactoferrin, and bacteria represent just some of the bioactive components of mother's breast milk (BM). Bacteriophages (viruses that infect bacteria) are an often-overlooked component of BM that can cause major changes in microbial composition and metabolism. BM bacteriophage composition has been explored in term and healthy infants, suggesting vertical transmission of bacteriophages occurs between mothers and their infants. Several important differences between term and very preterm infants (<30 weeks gestational age) may limit this phenomenon in the latter. To better understand the link between BM bacteriophages and gut microbiomes of very preterm infants in health and disease, standardised protocols are required for isolation and characteri

SUBMITTER: Young GR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9087270 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature