biostudies-literatureRaman ASNIDDK NIH HHSNIAID NIH HHSNational Institutes of HealthBill and Melinda Gates Foundationeaau4735https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC6683326biostudies-literatureUnknown365(6449)Characterizing the organization of the human gut microbiota is a formidable challenge given the number of possible interactions between its components. Using a statistical approach initially applied to financial markets, we measured temporally conserved covariance among bacterial taxa in the microbiota of healthy members of a Bangladeshi birth cohort sampled from 1 to 60 months of age. The results revealed an "ecogroup" of 15 covarying bacterial taxa that provide a concise description of microbiota development in healthy children from this and other low-income countries, and a means for monitoring community repair in undernourished children treated with therapeutic foods. Features of ecogroup population dynamics were recapitulated in gnotobiotic piglets as they transitioned from exclusive Science (New York, N.Y.)A sparse covarying unit that describes healthy and impaired human gut microbiota development.PMC6683326R01 DK030292DK030292AI043596OPP1134649R01 AI043596Chang HWRaman ASGehrig JLKosek MNAhmed TMahfuz MVenkatesh SPetri WALeyn SAHaque RBessong POLima AAMGordon JIKang GOsterman ALIslam MHuq SBarratt MJHibberd MCRodionov DAArzamasov AASubramanian SMostafa IfalseA sparse covarying unit that describes healthy and impaired human gut microbiota development.Characterizing the organization of the human gut microbiota is a formidable challenge given the number of possible interactions between its components. Using a statistical approach initially applied to financial markets, we measured temporally conserved covariance among bacterial taxa in the microbiota of healthy members of a Bangladeshi birth cohort sampled from 1 to 60 months of age. The results revealed an "ecogroup" of 15 covarying bacterial taxa that provide a concise description of microbiota development in healthy children from this and other low-income countries, and a means for monitoring community repair in undernourished children treated with therapeutic foods. Features of ecogroup population dynamics were recapitulated in gnotobiotic piglets as they transitioned from exclusive 2019-01-01T00:00:00Z2019 Jul2026-07-14T15:48:10.558Z2025-05-31T22:25:45.659ZS-EPMC66833263129673910.1126/science.aau4735