Maternal fiber deprivation alters microbiota in offspring resulting in low grade inflammation and predisposition to obesity

Diet, especially its fiber content, plays an important role in sustaining a healthy gut microbiota, which promotes intestinal and metabolic health. Another major determinant of microbiota composition is the specific microbes that one acquires early in life, especially from their mother. Consequently, we hypothesized that alteration of maternal diet, during lactation, might lastingly impact microbiota composition and health status of offspring. In accord with this notion, we observed that feeding lactating dams low-fiber diets resulted in their offspring exhibiting lasting microbiota dysbiosis, including reduced taxonomic diversity and increased abundance of Proteobacteria species, despite the offspring consuming a fiber-rich diet. Such microbiota dysbiosis associated with low-grade gut inflammation and a dramatically exacerbated microbiota-dependent increase in adiposity following exposure to an obesogenic diet. Thus, maternal diet is a critical long-lasting determinant of offspring microbiota composition, impacting their gut health and proneness to obesity and its associated disorders.