Dynamics of Gut Microbiota Recovery After Antibiotic Exposure in Young and Old Mice

Antibiotics alter the microbial composition of the gut microbiota, and these changes are associated with diminished innate immunity and decline in cognitive function in older adults. The composition of the gut microbiota changes with age over the lifespan. We sought to identify if age is associated with differential recovery of the microbiota after antibiotic exposure. Using 16s rRNA gene sequencing, we compared recovery of the gut microbiota after 10-day broad-spectrum antibiotic treatment in wild-type C57BL/6 young and older mice.

抗生素可改变肠道微生物群（gut microbiota）的组成，此类变化与老年人的固有免疫功能受损及认知功能下降显著相关。肠道微生物群的组成会随个体生命周期中的年龄增长而发生动态变化。本研究旨在探明，抗生素暴露后微生物群的恢复情况是否存在年龄相关性差异。本研究采用16S rRNA基因测序（16s rRNA gene sequencing）技术，对比了野生型C57BL/6幼年小鼠与老年小鼠在接受10天广谱抗生素治疗后的肠道微生物群恢复情况。