Japanese Macaque maternal juvenile Metagenome. primate metagenome

The enteric microbiome is a unique physiologic ecosystem recently implicated as an essential mediator of metabolism and obesity in mammalian species. However, studies investigating the impact of the diet early in life on the establishment of the microbiome are generally lacking, and most notably so in primate models. Here we report that in Macaca fuscata (Japanese macaque) a high fat maternal or postnatal diet, but not obesity per se, structures the offspring’s enteric microbiome. The resultant microbial dysbiosis is only partially corrected by a control diet after weaning. Unexpectedly, early exposure to a high fat diet diminished non-pathogenic Campylobacter from the juvenile gut, suggesting a potential role for dietary fat in shaping commensal microbial communities in primates. Our data challenge the concept of an obesogenic gut microbiome, and rather provides evidence for a contribution of the maternal diet in establishing the microbiota which impact enteric maintenance of metabolic health.