biostudies-literatureUnknown10Huang YE<h4>Background</h4>Extrauterine growth restriction (EUGR) in preterm birth infants could have long-term adverse impacts on health. Less is known about the gut microbiota regarding its establishment in early life and its role in long-term growth in preterm birth infants.<h4>Methods</h4>A prospective, longitudinal observational study was conducted with 67 preterm infants in a level III neonatal intensive care unit. Clinical information was obtained from medical records, and fecal samples were collected weekly during hospitalization and processed for 16S rRNA gene sequencing.<h4>Results</h4>The bacterial profiles from the weekly sampling of preterm infants demonstrated that the early-life gut microbiota was clustered into the following four stages in chronological order: stage 1: 0-4 days, stage 2: 1-2 weeks, stage 3: 3-7 weeks, and stage 4: 8-10 weeks. The development of gut microbiota showed latency at stage 4 in EUGR infants compared with that in non-EUGR infants, which resulted from their consistently high level of facultative anaerobes, including Enterobacteriaceae and <i>Staphylococcus</i>, and lack of obligate anaerobes, including <i>Clostridium</i> and <i>Veillonella</i>. In the 2-year follow-up, infants with a high level of obligate anaerobes-to-facultative anaerobes ratio at stage 4 had a lower risk of long-term growth restriction at the margin of statistical significance.<h4>Conclusion</h4>The results of this study indicate that the development of gut microbiota in the early life of EUGR infants is delayed compared with that of non-EUGR infants. The obligate-to-facultative anaerobes ratio could be an indicator of the maturity of gut microbiota development and associated with the risk of long-term growth restriction in preterm infants.Frontiers in pediatrics935458https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC9486202biostudies-literatureDisrupted establishment of anaerobe and facultative anaerobe balance in preterm infants with extrauterine growth restriction.PMC9486202Sheng YMa LZhou PChen JEl-Omar EMLu YLi PHuang YELi MLan SHu FZheng HYin DZhang YShen XfalseDisrupted establishment of anaerobe and facultative anaerobe balance in preterm infants with extrauterine growth restriction.<h4>Background</h4>Extrauterine growth restriction (EUGR) in preterm birth infants could have long-term adverse impacts on health. Less is known about the gut microbiota regarding its establishment in early life and its role in long-term growth in preterm birth infants.<h4>Methods</h4>A prospective, longitudinal observational study was conducted with 67 preterm infants in a level III neonatal intensive care unit. Clinical information was obtained from medical records, and fecal samples were collected weekly during hospitalization and processed for 16S rRNA gene sequencing.<h4>Results</h4>The bacterial profiles from the weekly sampling of preterm infants demonstrated that the early-life gut microbiota was clustered into the following four stages in chronological order: stage 1: 0-4 days, stage 2: 1-2 weeks, stage 3: 3-7 weeks, and stage 4: 8-10 weeks. The development of gut microbiota showed latency at stage 4 in EUGR infants compared with that in non-EUGR infants, which resulted from their consistently high level of facultative anaerobes, including Enterobacteriaceae and <i>Staphylococcus</i>, and lack of obligate anaerobes, including <i>Clostridium</i> and <i>Veillonella</i>. In the 2-year follow-up, infants with a high level of obligate anaerobes-to-facultative anaerobes ratio at stage 4 had a lower risk of long-term growth restriction at the margin of statistical significance.<h4>Conclusion</h4>The results of this study indicate that the development of gut microbiota in the early life of EUGR infants is delayed compared with that of non-EUGR infants. The obligate-to-facultative anaerobes ratio could be an indicator of the maturity of gut microbiota development and associated with the risk of long-term growth restriction in preterm infants.2022-01-01T00:00:00Z20222026-04-12T15:42:09.26Z2025-02-19T04:38:49.223ZS-EPMC94862023614781110.3389/fped.2022.935458