Cited by 679Infant Nutrition and HealthGut microbiota and healthBreastfeeding Practices and Influences

Human milk glycobiome and its impact on the infant gastrointestinal microbiota

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Zivkovic, Angela M., German, J. Bruce, Lebrilla, Carlito B., Mills, David A.·2011·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Abstract

Human milk contains an unexpected abundance and diversity of complex oligosaccharides apparently indigestible by the developing infant and instead targeted to its cognate gastrointestinal microbiota. Recent advances in mass spectrometry-based tools have provided a view of the oligosaccharide structures produced in milk across stages of lactation and among human mothers. One postulated function for these oligosaccharides is to enrich a specific “healthy” microbiota containing bifidobacteria, a genus commonly observed in the feces of breast-fed infants. Isolated culture studies indeed show selective growth of infant-borne bifidobacteria on milk oligosaccharides or core components therein. Parallel glycoprofiling documented that numerous Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis strains preferentially consume small mass oligosaccharides that are abundant early in the lactation cycle. Genome sequencing of numerous B. longum subsp. infantis strains shows a bias toward genes required to use mammalian-derived carbohydrates by comparison with adult-borne bifidobacteria. This intriguing strategy of mammalian lactation to selectively nourish genetically compatible bacteria in infants with a complex array of free oligosaccharides serves as a model of how to influence the human supraorganismal system, which includes the gastrointestinal microbiota.

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  • Bifidobacteria are among the best described gut bacteria with ability to utilize HMOs.

    “Bifidobacteria are among the best described gut bacteria with ability to utilize HMOs.”

    From Bifidobacteria and Their Health-Promoting Effects (2017) · cites this paper as [22]

  • Genome sequencing of Bifidobacterium longum subsp. Infantis confirmed the presence of genes that allow these organisms to metabolize mammalian carbohydrates.

    “Genome sequencing of numerous strains, particularly Bifidobacterium longum subsp. Infantis, has confirmed the presence of genes that allow these organisms to metabolize mammalian carbohydrates 18.”

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Research works printed but not linked: 3

  1. [21]Ninonuevo MR, et al. A strategy for annotating the human milk glycome. J Agric Food Chem. 2006;54:7471–7480. doi: 10.1021/jf0615810. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar] · DOI
  2. [47]Coppa GV, et al. Oligosaccharides of human milk inhibit the adhesion of Listeria monocytogenes to Caco-2 cells. Ital J Pediatr. 2003;29:61–68. [Google Scholar]
  3. [57]Moro E. A contribution to the knowledge of the normal intestinal bacteria of infants (Translated from German) Jahrb Kinderheilk. 1900;52:38–55. [Google Scholar]

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Authors
Zivkovic, A. M., German, J. B., Lebrilla, C. B., & Mills, D. A.
Affiliations
  • Foods for Health Institute,
  • University of California, Davis (US)
Venue
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Published
2010-08-02
Volume
108
Issue
supplement_1
Pages
4653-4658
ISSN
  • 0027-8424 (ISSN-L)
  • 1091-6490
OpenAlex
W1988602129
Cited by
679
References
76
Citations by year
2026: 19 · 2025: 32 · 2024: 33 · 2023: 42 · 2022: 47 · 2021: 50 · 2020: 50 · 2019: 51 · 2018: 52 · 2017: 49 · 2016: 54 · 2015: 45 · 2014: 42 · 2013: 47 · 2012: 42
FWCI
33.99
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • U.S. Department of Agriculture
  • California Dairy Research Foundation
  • National Institutes of Health (ES02710, ES11269)
  • National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (P42 ES02710, R37ES002710, P01-ES-11269, P01ES011269, R01ES002710)
  • National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
  • Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (R01HD061923, R01HD059127)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Infant Nutrition and Health
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Gut microbiota and health
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Breastfeeding Practices and Influences
Keywords
human milk oligosaccharides, Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis, Bifidobacterium, lactation stage, glycan profiling, breastfeeding, infant gut microbiota, host-microbe interactions
MeSH terms
Base Sequence, Bifidobacterium, Glycosides, Humans, Infant, Infant, Newborn, Milk, Human, Molecular Sequence Data, Oligosaccharides, Symbiosis, Sequence Analysis, DNA, Metagenome, Metabolome

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