Probiotic lactobacilli accelerate the maturation of the intestinal microbiota in mice

The gut microbiota in early life is shaped by different factors, including the ones from mothers, which may have a huge impact on intestinal homeostasis and maturation of the infants' gut microbiota. Probiotics are used as a dietary strategy to sustain intestinal microbiota homeostasis, a factor increasingly recognized as a key player for achieving health. The question of how the mothers probiotic intake affects the microbiota of their offspring remains unclear, particularly at critical maturation points such as weaning. This study aimed to assess whether exposure to probiotic lactobacilli from fetal to postnatal life influences microbiota maturation at the weaning transition. Briefly, Female mice were randomized to receive sterile or probiotic supplemented water starting one week before mating until weaning at postnatal day PND 21. After weaning, pups were maintained on their respective treatment until PND36. Terminal collection of the cecum content was performed at PND14, 21, and 36. Cecal microbiota was analyzed by 16S rRNA sequencing. Data analysis showed a significant increase in alpha diversity with age but no difference between groups, indicating that postnatal age, but not probiotics, affects microbial diversity and richness. Conversely, treatment was more important than age in distinguishing microbiota structure. Age-dependent segregation of mouse cecal microbiota structures was drastically reduced in the probiotics group, suggesting that probiotic lactobacilli accelerate the maturation of the microbiota.