Stress during pregnancy alters temporal and spatial dynamics of the maternal and offspring microbiome in a sex-specific manner
Open accessAbstract
The microbiome is a regulator of host immunity, metabolism, neurodevelopment, and behavior. During early life, bacterial communities within maternal gut and vaginal compartments can have an impact on directing these processes. Maternal stress experience during pregnancy may impact offspring development by altering the temporal and spatial dynamics of the maternal microbiome during pregnancy. To examine the hypothesis that maternal stress disrupts gut and vaginal microbial dynamics during critical prenatal and postnatal windows, we used high-resolution 16S rRNA marker gene sequencing to examine outcomes in our mouse model of early prenatal stress. Consistent with predictions, maternal fecal communities shift across pregnancy, a process that is disrupted by stress. Vaginal bacterial community structure and composition exhibit lasting disruption following stress exposure. Comparison of maternal and offspring microbiota revealed that similarities in bacterial community composition was predicted by a complex interaction between maternal body niche and offspring age and sex. Importantly, early prenatal stress influenced offspring bacterial community assembly in a temporal and sex-specific manner. Taken together, our results demonstrate that early prenatal stress may influence offspring development through converging modifications to gut microbial composition during pregnancy and transmission of dysbiotic vaginal microbiome at birth.
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- Authors
- Jašarević, E., Howard, C. D., Misic, A. M., Beiting, D. P., & Bale, T. L.
- Affiliations
- University of Pennsylvania (US)
- Corresponding author
- Bale, Tracy L.
- Venue
- Scientific Reports
- Published
- 2017-03-07
- Volume
- 7
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 44182-44182
- ISSN
- 2045-2322 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC5339804
- OpenAlex
- W2592627283
- Cited by
- 262
- References
- 18
- Citations by year
- 2026: 13 · 2025: 28 · 2024: 36 · 2023: 33 · 2022: 36 · 2021: 40 · 2020: 26 · 2019: 23 · 2018: 23 · 2017: 4
- FWCI
- 8.60
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Locations
- Scientific Reports (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- University of Pennsylvania (P30DK19525, DK19525)
- National Institutes of Health (5r01mh091258-05)
- National Institute of Mental Health (P50MH099910, R37MH108286, R01MH073030, R33MH104184, R01 MH-091258, R21MH104184, F32MH109298, R01MH087597)
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (P30DK019525)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Gut microbiota and health
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum
- Health Sciences › Dentistry › Periodontics › Oral microbiology and periodontitis research
- Keywords
- prenatal stress, maternal microbiome, gut microbiota, vaginal microbiota, sex differences, microbial community assembly
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Female, Male, Pregnancy, Pregnancy Complications, Sex Characteristics, Stress, Psychological, Mice, Microbiota
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