Chronicling Development of the Neonatal Microbiome through Salivary and Stool Analyses

Microbiome analysis was performed on multiple longitudinal samples from preterm babies in the Tufts Medical Center NICU, taking both stool and oral samples at each time point. The goals were to compare the oral and gut microbiomes of preterms over time, determine if organisms entering the body via the oral cavity colonize the gut, and look for correlations between the microbiome and the various clinical conditions of the preterms.