Gut microbiota development of preterm infants hospitalised in intensive care units

Recent studies have revealed that gut microbiome development affects infant health and postnatal physiology. The gut microbe assemblage of preterm infants has been reported to be different from that of healthy term infants. However, the patterns of ecosystem development and inter-individual differences remain poorly understood. We investigated hospitalized preterm infant gut microbiota development using 16S rRNA gene amplicons and metabolic profiles of 268 stool samples obtained from 17 preterm infants in intensive care and 42 term infants to understand the dynamics and equilibria of the developing microbiota. Our data based on dedicated overtime sampling provides an in-depth understanding of gut microbiota development in intensive care-nursed late preterm infants and complements earlier studies. Understanding the pattern and inter-individual differences of the preterm infant gut ecosystem is the first step towards controlling the risk of diseases in premature infants by targeting intestinal microbiota.