Perinatal citalopram exposure alters the gut composition and microbial metabolic profiles of Sprague-Dawley rat dams and female offspring but not male offspring

These findings demonstrate that maternal citalopram exposure during pregnancy and lactation has lasting, sex-specific impacts on the offspring's gut microbiome and microbial metabolic pathways. The pronounced alterations in female, but not male offspring, suggest that host sex may be a critical determinant in the developmental response to citalopram exposure. This work underscores the value of metagenomic approaches in uncovering complex host-microbiome interactions and highlights the need to consider offspring sex in evaluating the safety and long-term effects of antidepressant use during pregnancy.