Genomic atlas of Bifidobacterium infantis and B. longum informs infant probiotic design

Highlights

  • •
    Genome catalog of 4,098 B. infantis and B. longum shows distinct biogeography and ecology
  • •
    B. infantis is depleted in Westernized populations but highly common in LMIC infants
  • •
    Massively expanded B. infantis diversity and functions are absent from current probiotics
  • •
    Geo-specific strain library informs diet- and population-tailored infant probiotic design

Summary

Bifidobacterium longum and B. infantis are pioneer colonizers of the neonatal gut and are widely used as probiotics to support infant growth, development, and disease resistance. However, commercial strains derived largely from high-income countries (HICs) may be suboptimal for infants in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). We assembled a global genomic atlas of more than 4,000 genomes from 48 countries, increasing representation from LMICs by 12- to 17-fold. High-resolution phylogenomic and functional analyses support delineating B. longum and B. infantis as distinct species with divergent functions and epidemiological patterns. B. infantis dominates early-life microbiota in LMICs but is rarely detected in HICs. Natural B. infantis strains show extreme biogeographic stratification and predicted adaptations to local plant-glycan-rich diets and breast-milk-derived substrates, including urea and B vitamins. This genomic resource enables genome-guided selection of geographically matched strains to inform more effective probiotics and precision microbiome therapeutics for diverse infant populations.

Read full article for free (open access):
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0092867426000541



Popular posts from this blog

Salivary microbiome diversity is associated with oral health and disease

Image
The oral microbiome is a complex community of bacteria, fungi, and viruses that inhabit the oral cavity. Microbes of the oral microbiome are implicated in health and disease. We collected 220 unstimulated saliva samples from patients with periodontal disease and varying degrees of dental caries, as well as from subjects with no signs of oral disease. Metagenomic analysis of saliva revealed significantly higher abundance of periodontal pathogens in people with gum disease, and significantly higher abundance of cariogenic species in people with dental caries. We also found that salivary microbiome diversity was significantly higher in people with periodontal disease, but not in those with only caries. Furthermore, oral microbiome diversity is affected by oral hygiene habits such as flossing frequency, but not brushing frequency. Clustering and differential analysis allowed us to identify specific commensal species, such as  Prevotella pallens and Veillonella atypica , which are signi...
Read more