Maternal fiber deprivation alters microbiota in offspring, resulting in low-grade inflammation and predisposition to obesity.

ABSTRACT: Diet, especially fiber content, plays an important role in sustaining a healthy gut microbiota, which promotes intestinal and metabolic health. Another major determinant of microbiota composition is the specific microbes that are acquired early in life, especially maternally. Consequently, we hypothesized that alterations in maternal diet during lactation might lastingly impact the microbiota composition and health status of offspring. Accordingly, we observed that feeding lactating dams low-fiber diets resulted in offspring with lasting microbiota dysbiosis, including reduced taxonomic diversity and increased abundance of Proteobacteria species, despite the offspring consuming a fiber-rich diet. Such microbiota dysbiosis was associated with increased encroachment of bacteria into inner mu

SUBMITTER: Zou J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9850817 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature