Dynamics of gut metabolome and microbiota maturation during early life
Early-life gut microbiome-metabolome crosstalk plays a crucial role in maintaining host physiology. The microbially produced metabolites often convey effects on host health and physiology. This study investigates the gut metabolites, including short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), bile acids (BAs), and polar metabolites, and their relationship to gut microbiota composition in a birth cohort of 670 children. Samples were collected at 2.5 (<i>n</i> = 272), 6 (<i>n</i> = 232), 14 (<i>n</i> = 289), and 30 months (<i>n</i> = 157) of age. We identified the trajectories of the fecal metabolome that relate to the maturation of the early-life gut microbiota. We found that prevalent gut microbial abundances were associated with microbial metabolite levels, particularly in 2.5-month-old infants. Here, the abundances of early colonizers, e.g., <i>Bacteroides, Escherichia</i>, and <i>Bifidobacterium</i>, were associated with microbial metabolites, especially secondary BAs, particularly in breastfed infants. Our results suggest that early-life gut microbiota associates with changes in metabolome composition, particularly BAs, which may have physiological implications.
Authors
- Anna‐Katariina Aatsinki (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8431-7758)
- Partho Sen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0475-2763)
- Alex M. Dickens (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3178-8449)
- Henna-Maria Kailanto
- Anniina Keskitalo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3342-4358)
- Laura Perasto (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-3209-0506)
- Santosh Lamichhane (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9292-3595)
- Linnéa Karlsson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4725-0176)
- Minna Lukkarinen
- Eveliina Munukka (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1732-9075)
- Hasse Karlsson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4992-1893)
- Matilda Kråkström (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7956-958X)
- Marina Amaral Alves (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8188-5554)
- Leo Lahti (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5537-637X)
- Matej Orešič (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2856-9165)
- Heidi Isokääntä (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2443-575X)
Institutions
- Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (BR)
- Åbo Akademi University (FI)
- University of Turku (FI)
- Turku Centre for Computer Science (FI)
- Örebro University (SE)
- Turku University Hospital (FI)
Publication Details
- Journal
- iScience
- Published
- 2025-09-25
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2025.113596
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Gut microbiota and health
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.81