Cited by 4,774Gut microbiota and healthInfant Nutrition and HealthReproductive tract infections research

Delivery mode shapes the acquisition and structure of the initial microbiota across multiple body habitats in newborns

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Dominguez-Bello, Maria G., Costello, Elizabeth K., Contreras, Monica, Magris, Magda, Hidalgo, Glida, Fierer, Noah, Knight, Rob·2010·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Abstract

Upon delivery, the neonate is exposed for the first time to a wide array of microbes from a variety of sources, including maternal bacteria. Although prior studies have suggested that delivery mode shapes the microbiota's establishment and, subsequently, its role in child health, most researchers have focused on specific bacterial taxa or on a single body habitat, the gut. Thus, the initiation stage of human microbiome development remains obscure. The goal of the present study was to obtain a community-wide perspective on the influence of delivery mode and body habitat on the neonate's first microbiota. We used multiplexed 16S rRNA gene pyrosequencing to characterize bacterial communities from mothers and their newborn babies, four born vaginally and six born via Cesarean section. Mothers' skin, oral mucosa, and vagina were sampled 1 h before delivery, and neonates' skin, oral mucosa, and nasopharyngeal aspirate were sampled <5 min, and meconium <24 h, after delivery. We found that in direct contrast to the highly differentiated communities of their mothers, neonates harbored bacterial communities that were undifferentiated across multiple body habitats, regardless of delivery mode. Our results also show that vaginally delivered infants acquired bacterial communities resembling their own mother's vaginal microbiota, dominated by Lactobacillus, Prevotella, or Sneathia spp., and C-section infants harbored bacterial communities similar to those found on the skin surface, dominated by Staphylococcus, Corynebacterium, and Propionibacterium spp. These findings establish an important baseline for studies tracking the human microbiome's successional development in different body habitats following different delivery modes, and their associated effects on infant health.

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  • In that study there was no relation between the specific skin microbiota of the mother and the microbiota of their C-section born infants, demonstrating that bacterial colonization originates from non-maternal sources.

    “in that study there was no relation between the specific skin microbiota of the mother and the microbiota of their C-section born infants, demonstrating that bacterial colonization originates from non-maternal sources.”

    From The Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis (2019) · cites this paper as Dominguez-Bello et al., 2010

    The Results and Discussion report that C-section mothers’ skin communities were no more similar to their own babies’ microbiota than to that of other C-section babies. But the authors say nonmaternal exposures could contribute and explicitly note that their data do not identify specific sources; they do not demonstrate that colonization originates from nonmaternal sources. Page numbers are not provided in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.88)

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  • The infant and child microbiota is susceptible to a range of environmental influences, including birth mode, birth location, diet, maternal gestational diet and weight gain, pet ownership, physical illness, antibiotic use, and stress.

    “The infant and child microbiota is susceptible to a range of environmental influences, from birth mode (vaginal vs C-section), and birth location (home vs hospital) , to diet, (including breastfeeding versus formula feeding) (Azad et al., 2013;Biasucci et al., 2010;Dominguez-Bello et al., 2010;Ho et al., 2018), maternal gestational diet and weight gain (Baumann-Dudenhoeffer et al., 2018;Seppo et”

    From The Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis (2019) · cites this paper as Dominguez-Bello et al., 2010

    The Results and Discussion (page not specified in our copy) identify delivery mode as the primary determinant of the newborns’ initial bacterial communities and mention a suggested effect of breastfeeding. The paper does not establish effects of home versus hospital birth or formula versus breastfeeding, so it supports only part of the environmental-influences claim attributed to this citation. (LLM, conf=0.86)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • A seminal study has shown vertical transmission of bacteria from the mother to the newborn, with the microbiota of vaginally-delivered babies closely resembling the vaginal microbiota of their mothers.

    “A seminal study has shown that there is vertical transmission of bacteria from the mother to the newborn, with the microbiota of vaginally-delivered babies closely resembling the vaginal microbiota of their mothers (Dominguez-Bello et al., 2010).”

    From The Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis (2019) · cites this paper as Dominguez-Bello et al., 2010

  • Initial colonization of bacteria in C-section delivered babies seems to be dominated by bacteria typically present on the skin and in the environment, with increased levels of Staphylococcus spp.

    “the initial colonization of bacteria in C-section delivered babies seems to be dominated by bacteria typically present on the skin and in the environment, with increased levels of Staphylococcus spp.(Dominguez-Bello et al., 2010).”

    From The Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis (2019) · cites this paper as Dominguez-Bello et al., 2010

  • C-section born babies have a higher risk of developing neonatal infections by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus or C. difficile.

    “C-section born babies also have a higher risk of developing neonatal infections by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, (Dominguez-Bello et al., 2010) or C. difficile (Penders et al., 2006).”

    From The Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis (2019) · cites this paper as Dominguez-Bello et al., 2010

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  1. [34]Coppa GV, Zampini L, Galeazzi T, Gabrielli O (2006) Prebiotics in human milk: A review. Dig Liver Dis 38(Suppl 2):S291 -S294.

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Authors
Dominguez-Bello, M. G., Costello, E. K., Contreras, M., Magris, M., Hidalgo, G., Fierer, N., & Knight, R.
Affiliations
  • Department of Biology, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00931;
  • University of Colorado Boulder (US)
  • Center of Biophysics and Biochemistry, Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Research, Caracas 1020A, Venezuela;
  • Amazonic Center for Research and Control of Tropical Diseases, Puerto Ayacucho 7101, Amazonas, Venezuela; and
  • Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (US)
  • Howard Hughes Medical Institute (US)
Venue
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Published
2010-06-21
Volume
107
Issue
26
Pages
11971-11975
ISSN
  • 0027-8424 (ISSN-L)
  • 1091-6490
OpenAlex
W2023506796
Cited by
4,774
References
5
Citations by year
2026: 202 · 2025: 292 · 2024: 285 · 2023: 338 · 2022: 403 · 2021: 419 · 2020: 437 · 2019: 415 · 2018: 378 · 2017: 359 · 2016: 339 · 2015: 252 · 2014: 226 · 2013: 186 · 2012: 125
FWCI
54.29
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • Crohn's and Colitis Foundation
  • National Human Genome Research Institute (R01HG004872)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Gut microbiota and health
  • Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Infant Nutrition and Health
  • Life Sciences › Immunology and Microbiology › Microbiology › Reproductive tract infections research
Keywords
mode of delivery, vaginal delivery, cesarean section, neonatal microbiome, skin microbiome, oral microbiota, vaginal microbiota, meconium, maternal microbiota, Lactobacillus, Prevotella, Sneathia, Staphylococcus, Corynebacterium, Propionibacterium, microbial colonization
MeSH terms
Adult, Bacteria, Base Sequence, Cesarean Section, Female, Humans, Infant, Newborn, Male, Mouth Mucosa, Nasopharynx, Pregnancy, RNA, Bacterial, RNA, Ribosomal, 16S, Skin, Vagina, Venezuela, Ecosystem, DNA Primers, Delivery, Obstetric, Metagenome, Young Adult

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