Early gut microbiome of preterm infants in neonatal intensive care unit (NICU)

The colonization and evolution of pioneering gut microbiota early in life appear to play a vital role in shaping a healthy, robust immune system for both the infant's short-term illness and long-term health. Early life clinical practices such as caesarean section, hospitalization, invasive procedures, antibiotic exposure and, formula feeding, etc., may interrupt and disrupt the normal colonization process of the infant gut microbiota, thereby increasing disease susceptibility. In this prospective cohort study, we analyzed the gut microbiota of 46 term and 23 preterm infants using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Fecal samples were collected at six timepoints during the first three months of life (meconium, 1 week, 2 weeks, 1 month, 2 months and 3 months).