Maternal Dietary Protein Intake Influences Milk and Offspring Gut Microbial Diversity in a Rat (<em>Rattus norvegicus</em>) Model
Historically, investigators have assumed microorganisms identified in mother’s milk to be contaminants, but recent data suggest that milk microbiota may contribute to beneficial maternal effects. Microorganisms that colonize the gastrointestinal tracts of newborn mammals are derived, at least in par...
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doaj-71e9458f10bf411c88772e1c41d7187f2020-11-25T01:39:51ZengMDPI AGNutrients2072-66432019-09-01119225710.3390/nu11092257nu11092257Maternal Dietary Protein Intake Influences Milk and Offspring Gut Microbial Diversity in a Rat (<em>Rattus norvegicus</em>) ModelMatthew F. Warren0Haley A. Hallowell1Keah V. Higgins2Mark R. Liles3Wendy R. Hood4Department of Biological Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USADepartment of Biological Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USADepartment of Biological Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USADepartment of Biological Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USADepartment of Biological Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USAHistorically, investigators have assumed microorganisms identified in mother’s milk to be contaminants, but recent data suggest that milk microbiota may contribute to beneficial maternal effects. Microorganisms that colonize the gastrointestinal tracts of newborn mammals are derived, at least in part, from the maternal microbial population. Milk-derived microbiota is an important source of this microbial inocula and we hypothesized that the maternal diet contributes to variation in this microbial community. To evaluate the relationship between a mother’s diet and milk microbiome, we fed female rats a low- or high-protein diet and mated all individuals. Milk and cecal contents were collected from dams at peak lactation (14-day post-partum), and the bacterial composition of each community was assessed by 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. Our findings revealed higher dietary protein intake decreased fecal microbial diversity but increased milk microbial and pup cecum diversity. Further, the higher dietary protein intake resulted in a greater abundance of potentially health-promoting bacteria, such as <i>Lactobacillus</i> spp. These data suggest that dietary protein levels contribute to significant shifts in the composition of maternal milk microbiota and that the functional consequences of these changes in microbial inocula might be biologically important and should be further explored.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/11/9/2257Milk microorganismsbacteria diversityphylogenetic distance16S rRNA gene sequencing |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Matthew F. Warren Haley A. Hallowell Keah V. Higgins Mark R. Liles Wendy R. Hood |
spellingShingle |
Matthew F. Warren Haley A. Hallowell Keah V. Higgins Mark R. Liles Wendy R. Hood Maternal Dietary Protein Intake Influences Milk and Offspring Gut Microbial Diversity in a Rat (<em>Rattus norvegicus</em>) Model Nutrients Milk microorganisms bacteria diversity phylogenetic distance 16S rRNA gene sequencing |
author_facet |
Matthew F. Warren Haley A. Hallowell Keah V. Higgins Mark R. Liles Wendy R. Hood |
author_sort |
Matthew F. Warren |
title |
Maternal Dietary Protein Intake Influences Milk and Offspring Gut Microbial Diversity in a Rat (<em>Rattus norvegicus</em>) Model |
title_short |
Maternal Dietary Protein Intake Influences Milk and Offspring Gut Microbial Diversity in a Rat (<em>Rattus norvegicus</em>) Model |
title_full |
Maternal Dietary Protein Intake Influences Milk and Offspring Gut Microbial Diversity in a Rat (<em>Rattus norvegicus</em>) Model |
title_fullStr |
Maternal Dietary Protein Intake Influences Milk and Offspring Gut Microbial Diversity in a Rat (<em>Rattus norvegicus</em>) Model |
title_full_unstemmed |
Maternal Dietary Protein Intake Influences Milk and Offspring Gut Microbial Diversity in a Rat (<em>Rattus norvegicus</em>) Model |
title_sort |
maternal dietary protein intake influences milk and offspring gut microbial diversity in a rat (<em>rattus norvegicus</em>) model |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Nutrients |
issn |
2072-6643 |
publishDate |
2019-09-01 |
description |
Historically, investigators have assumed microorganisms identified in mother’s milk to be contaminants, but recent data suggest that milk microbiota may contribute to beneficial maternal effects. Microorganisms that colonize the gastrointestinal tracts of newborn mammals are derived, at least in part, from the maternal microbial population. Milk-derived microbiota is an important source of this microbial inocula and we hypothesized that the maternal diet contributes to variation in this microbial community. To evaluate the relationship between a mother’s diet and milk microbiome, we fed female rats a low- or high-protein diet and mated all individuals. Milk and cecal contents were collected from dams at peak lactation (14-day post-partum), and the bacterial composition of each community was assessed by 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. Our findings revealed higher dietary protein intake decreased fecal microbial diversity but increased milk microbial and pup cecum diversity. Further, the higher dietary protein intake resulted in a greater abundance of potentially health-promoting bacteria, such as <i>Lactobacillus</i> spp. These data suggest that dietary protein levels contribute to significant shifts in the composition of maternal milk microbiota and that the functional consequences of these changes in microbial inocula might be biologically important and should be further explored. |
topic |
Milk microorganisms bacteria diversity phylogenetic distance 16S rRNA gene sequencing |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/11/9/2257 |
work_keys_str_mv |
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