scholarly journals Metagenomic insights of the infant microbiome community structure and function across multiple sites in the United States

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Giorgio Casaburi ◽  
Rebbeca M. Duar ◽  
Heather Brown ◽  
Ryan D. Mitchell ◽  
Sufyan Kazi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gut Microbiome ◽  
System Development ◽  
Antibiotic Resistance Genes ◽  
The United States ◽  
Microbiome Composition ◽  
Immune System Development ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Status ◽  
Infant Gut Microbiome ◽  
And Function

AbstractThe gut microbiome plays an important role in early life, protecting newborns from enteric pathogens, promoting immune system development and providing key functions to the infant host. Currently, there are limited data to broadly assess the status of the US healthy infant gut microbiome. To address this gap, we performed a multi-state metagenomic survey and found high levels of bacteria associated with enteric inflammation (e.g. Escherichia, Klebsiella), antibiotic resistance genes, and signatures of dysbiosis, independent of location, age, and diet. Bifidobacterium were less abundant than generally expected and the species identified, including B. breve, B. longum and B. bifidum, had limited genetic capacity to metabolize human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs), while B. infantis strains with a complete capacity for HMOs utilization were found to be exceptionally rare. Considering microbiome composition and functional capacity, this survey revealed a previously unappreciated dysbiosis that is widespread in the contemporary US infant gut microbiome.

scholarly journals The Gut Microbiota composition of Feral and Tamworth Pigs determined using High-Throughput Culturomics and Metagenomics Reveals Compositional Variations When Compared to the Commercial Breeds

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gavin J. Fenske ◽  
Sudeep Ghimire ◽  
Linto Antony ◽  
Jane Christopher-Hennings ◽  
Joy Scaria
Keyword(s):  
Gut Microbiome ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Antibiotic Resistance Genes ◽  
Distinct Species ◽  
Culture Techniques ◽  
Microbiome Composition ◽  
Modern Agriculture ◽  
Compositional Variations ◽  
And Function ◽  
Pig Microbiome

AbstractBacterial communities in the hindguts of pigs have a profound impact on health and disease. Yet very limited studies have been performed outside intensive swine farms to determine pig gut microbiome composition in natural populations. Feral pigs represent a unique situation where the microbiome structure can be observed outside the realm of modern agriculture. Additionally, Tamworth pigs that freely forage were included to characterize the microbiome structure of this rare breed. In this study, gut microbiome of feral and Tamworth pigs were determined using metagenomics and culturomics. Tamworth pigs are highly dominated by Bacteroidetes primarily composed of the genus Prevotella whereas feral samples were more diverse with almost equal proportions of Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes. In total, 46 distinct species were successfully isolated from 1000 colonies selected. The combination of metagenomics and culture techniques facilitated a greater retrieval of annotated genes than either method alone. Furthermore, the naturally raised Tamworth pig microbiome contained more number of antibiotic resistance genes when compared to feral pig microbiome. The single medium based pig microbiota library we report is a resource to better understand pig gut microbial ecology and function by assembling simple to complex microbiota communities in bioreactors or germfree animal models.

scholarly journals Restoring Bifidobacterium Infantis EVC001 to the Infant Gut Microbiome Significantly Reduces Intestinal Inflammation (OR12-01-19)

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bethany Henrick ◽  
Stephanie Chew ◽  
Ryan Mitchell ◽  
Lindsey Contreras ◽  
Giorgio Casaburi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Immune System ◽  
Gut Microbiome ◽  
Intestinal Inflammation ◽  
System Development ◽  
Fecal Calprotectin ◽  
Breastfed Infants ◽  
Gut Dysbiosis ◽  
Immune System Development ◽  
Infant Gut Microbiome ◽  
Chronic Intestinal Inflammation

Abstract Objectives Several seminal publications identify that Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis (B. infantis) has uniquely evolved to be the predominant strain in the breastfed infant gut; however, recent cohort studies indicate it is now far less abundant in infants born in industrialized nations, along with increased abundance of potentially pathogenic bacteria and gut dysbiosis. Importantly, recent clinical studies show enteric dysbiosis during the first 100 days of life can lead to higher risk of allergic and autoimmune-mediated disorders later in life. Given the importance of the microbiome for immune system development, we investigated the effect of B. infantis EVC001 consumption on intestinal inflammation in a cohort of healthy, term infants. Methods Forty (n = 40) infants were randomly selected from the previously conducted clinical study in which healthy, exclusively breastfed infants were either fed B. infantis EVC001 daily for 21 days, starting at day 7 postpartum, or received breastmilk alone. Stool samples were collected at multiple times postnatally and analyzed for cytokine production using a multiplex system and calprotectin ELISA. Results Baseline analysis indicated infants randomized to the EVC001 group produced naturally higher levels of IL2, IL5, IL6, IL10, TNFa and IFNg and lower levels of IL1b (all P < 0.01); however, by day 40, infants fed EVC001 produced significantly decreased cytokines, IL1b, IL6, IL8, IL22, TNFa and IFNg (all P < 0.0001) and IL-5 (P = 0.024), and at day 60 postpartum (all P < 0.001) and IL5 (P = 0.013). Fecal calprotectin concentration was significantly decreased in infants whose gut microbiome contained Bifidobacterium (P = 9.61e-05). Conclusions This study is the first to demonstrate a significant impact of B. infantis EVC001 on immune homeostasis in breastfed infants during a critical window of immune system development. Infants fed EVC001 produced significantly less proinflammatory cytokines and fecal calprotectin compared to control infants. Notably, TNFa, IL1b, and IFNg, which increase intestinal permeability, were significantly elevated in control infants. This may play an important mechanistic role in explaining the chronic intestinal inflammation observed in infants not colonized with B. infantis. These critical data provide a new understanding of the role of the infant gut microbiome in immune system development and provide novel applications to address chronic inflammation through modulation of gut dysbiosis. Funding Sources Industry funded.

scholarly journals Spring Freeze Damage of Pecan Bloom: A Review

Horticulturae ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 82
Author(s):  
Amandeep Kaur ◽  
Louise Ferguson ◽  
Niels Maness ◽  
Becky Carroll ◽  
William Reid ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tree Height ◽  
The United States ◽  
Reproductive Organs ◽  
Tree Age ◽  
The Us ◽  
Nut Production ◽  
Freeze Damage ◽  
Terminal Buds ◽  
And Function ◽  
The Impact

Pecan is native to the United States. The US is the world’s largest pecan producer with an average yearly production of 250 to 300 million pounds; 80 percent of the world’s supply. Georgia, New Mexico, Texas, Arizona, Oklahoma, California, Louisiana, and Florida are the major US pecan producing states. Pecan trees frequently suffer from spring freeze at bud break and bloom as the buds are quite sensitive to freeze damage. This leads to poor flower and nut production. This review focuses on the impact of spring freeze during bud differentiation and flower development. Spring freeze kills the primary terminal buds, the pecan tree has a second chance for growth and flowering through secondary buds. Unfortunately, secondary buds have less bloom potential than primary buds and nut yield is reduced. Spring freeze damage depends on severity of the freeze, bud growth stage, cultivar type and tree age, tree height and tree vigor. This review discusses the impact of temperature on structure and function of male and female reproductive organs. It also summarizes carbohydrate relations as another factor that may play an important role in spring growth and transition of primary and secondary buds to flowers.

scholarly journals Infant gut microbiome composition is associated with non-social fear behavior in a pilot study

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander L. Carlson ◽  
Kai Xia ◽  
M. Andrea Azcarate-Peril ◽  
Samuel P. Rosin ◽  
Jason P. Fine ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pilot Study ◽  
Gut Microbiome ◽  
Brain Structures ◽  
Experimental Manipulation ◽  
Human Infant ◽  
Microbiome Composition ◽  
Social Fear ◽  
Infant Gut Microbiome ◽  
First Year Of Life ◽  
Fear Behavior

AbstractExperimental manipulation of gut microbes in animal models alters fear behavior and relevant neurocircuitry. In humans, the first year of life is a key period for brain development, the emergence of fearfulness, and the establishment of the gut microbiome. Variation in the infant gut microbiome has previously been linked to cognitive development, but its relationship with fear behavior and neurocircuitry is unknown. In this pilot study of 34 infants, we find that 1-year gut microbiome composition (Weighted Unifrac; lower abundance of Bacteroides, increased abundance of Veillonella, Dialister, and Clostridiales) is significantly associated with increased fear behavior during a non-social fear paradigm. Infants with increased richness and reduced evenness of the 1-month microbiome also display increased non-social fear. This study indicates associations of the human infant gut microbiome with fear behavior and possible relationships with fear-related brain structures on the basis of a small cohort. As such, it represents an important step in understanding the role of the gut microbiome in the development of human fear behaviors, but requires further validation with a larger number of participants.

scholarly journals The sugar composition of the fibre in selected plant foods modulates weaning infants’ gut microbiome composition and fermentation metabolites in vitro

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shanthi G. Parkar ◽  
Jovyn K. T. Frost ◽  
Doug Rosendale ◽  
Halina M. Stoklosinski ◽  
Carel M. H. Jobsis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gut Microbiome ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Sugar Composition ◽  
Microbiome Composition ◽  
Fibre Concentration ◽  
Microbiome Profile ◽  
Infant Gut Microbiome ◽  
Immune Health ◽  
Faecal Bacteria

AbstractEight plant-based foods: oat flour and pureed apple, blackcurrant, carrot, gold- and green-fleshed kiwifruit, pumpkin, sweetcorn, were pre-digested and fermented with pooled inocula of weaning infants’ faecal bacteria in an in vitro hindgut model. Inulin and water were included as controls. The pre-digested foods were analysed for digestion-resistant fibre-derived sugar composition and standardised to the same total fibre concentration prior to fermentation. The food-microbiome interactions were then characterised by measuring microbial acid and gas metabolites, microbial glycosidase activity and determining microbiome structure. At the physiologically relevant time of 10 h of fermentation, the xyloglucan-rich apple and blackcurrant favoured a propiogenic metabolic and microbiome profile with no measurable gas production. Glucose-rich, xyloglucan-poor pumpkin caused the greatest increases in lactate and acetate (indicative of high fermentability) commensurate with increased bifidobacteria. Glucose-rich, xyloglucan-poor oats and sweetcorn, and arabinogalactan-rich carrot also increased lactate and acetate, and were more stimulatory of clostridial families, which are indicative of increased microbial diversity and gut and immune health. Inulin favoured a probiotic-driven consortium, while water supported a proteolytic microbiome. This study shows that the fibre-derived sugar composition of complementary foods may shape infant gut microbiome structure and metabolic activity, at least in vitro.

Iron-containing micronutrient powders modify the effect of oral antibiotics on the infant gut microbiome and increase post-antibiotic diarrhoea risk: a controlled study in Kenya

Gut ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 68 (4) ◽  
pp. 645-653 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniela Paganini ◽  
Mary A Uyoga ◽  
Guus A M Kortman ◽  
Colin I Cercamondi ◽  
Hans C Winkler ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gut Microbiome ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Controlled Study ◽  
Faecal Calprotectin ◽  
Microbiome Composition ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Increase Risk ◽  
Infant Gut Microbiome ◽  
Registration Number ◽  
Antibiotic Efficacy

ObjectiveMany African infants receiving iron fortificants also receive antibiotics. Antibiotic efficacy against enteropathogens may be modified by high colonic iron concentrations. In this study, we evaluated the effect of antibiotics on the infant gut microbiome and diarrhoea when given with or without iron-containing micronutrient powders (MNPs).DesignIn a controlled intervention trial, four groups of community-dwelling infants (n=28; aged 8–10 months) received either: (A) antibiotics for 5 days and iron-MNPs for 40 days (Fe+Ab+); (B) antibiotics and no-iron-MNPs (Fe−Ab+); (C) no antibiotics and iron-MNPs (Fe+Ab−); or (D) no antibiotics and no-iron-MNPs (Fe−Ab−). We collected a faecal sample before the first antibiotic dose (D0) and after 5, 10, 20 and 40 days (D5–D40) to assess the gut microbiome composition by 16S profiling, enteropathogens by quantitative PCR, faecal calprotectin and pH and assessed morbidity over the 40-day study period.ResultsIn Fe+Ab+, there was a decrease in Bifidobacterium abundances (p<0.05), but no decrease in Fe−Ab+. In Fe−Ab+, there was a decrease in abundances of pathogenic Escherichia coli (p<0.05), but no decrease in Fe+Ab+. In Fe−Ab+, there was a decrease in pH (p<0.05), but no decrease in Fe+Ab+. Longitudinal prevalence of diarrhoea was higher in Fe+Ab+ (19.6%) compared with Fe−Ab+ (12.4%) (p=0.04) and compared with Fe+Ab− (5.2%) (p=0.00).ConclusionOur findings need confirmation in a larger study but suggest that, in African infants, iron fortification modifies the response to broad-spectrum antibiotics: iron may reduce their efficacy against potential enteropathogens, particularly pathogenic E. coli, and may increase risk for diarrhoea.Trial registration numberNCT02118402; Pre-results.

A Critical Transnational Perspective to Asian America

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yen Le Espiritu
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Civil Rights ◽  
Asian American ◽  
The United States ◽  
Human Welfare ◽  
Vietnamese Refugees ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Status ◽  
Rights Discourse

Much of the early scholarship in Asian American studies sought to establish that Asian Americans have been crucial to the making of the US nation and thus deserve full inclusion into its polity. This emphasis on inclusion affirms the status of the United States as the ultimate protector and provider of human welfare, and narrates the Asian American subject by modern civil rights discourse. However, the comparative cases of Filipino immigrants and Vietnamese refugees show how Asian American racial formation has been determined not only by the social, economic, and political forces in the United States but also by US colonialism, imperialism, and wars in Asia.

The United States

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. C. Sharman
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Turn Of The Century ◽  
Patriot Act ◽  
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act ◽  
The Us ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The Status ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Successful Prevention

This chapter begins by tracing the origins of the anti-kleptocracy cause in the United States, starting with the harsh Cold War environment and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977. It explores the status quo ante of dictators being able to launder their funds in the US financial system with impunity immediately before and after the turn of the century. At this time, there was no law prohibiting American banks and other institutions receiving the proceeds of foreign corruption. The USA Patriot Act closed this legal loophole, yet practice lagged, and laws at first failed to have much of an impact. More recent cases indicate at least partial effectiveness, however, with instances of successful prevention and some looted wealth confiscated and returned.

The Politics of Status

2020 ◽  
pp. 34-53
Author(s):  
Amílcar Antonio Barreto
Keyword(s):  
Puerto Rico ◽  
Puerto Rican ◽  
Political Party ◽  
Party System ◽  
Puerto Ricans ◽  
The United States ◽  
State Of The Union ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Status ◽  
Political Party System

Puerto Ricans, US subjects since 1898, were naturalized en masse in 1917. Congress did so to eliminate the possibility of independence from the US. That citizenship is the cornerstone of island-mainland relations for those advocating a continued relationship with the United States—either in the form of the 1952 Commonwealth constitution or statehood. The epicenter of Puerto Rican partisan life remains the status question. This remarkably stable political party system featured two strong parties of near-equal strength—the pro-Commonwealth PPD and its statehood challenger, the PNP— and a small independence party, the PIP. A core feature of the PNP’s platform has been estadidad jíbara—"creole statehood.” In theory, a future State of Puerto Rico would be allowed to retain its cultural and linguistic autonomy while attaining full membership as the 51st state of the Union.

Lost in Misconceptions about Social Identity Theory

2019 ◽  
Vol 63 (4) ◽  
pp. 1189-1191
Author(s):  
Deborah Welch Larson ◽  
Alexei Shevchenko
Keyword(s):  
Social Identity ◽  
Social Identity Theory ◽  
Identity Theory ◽  
The United States ◽  
Social Competition ◽  
Military Conflict ◽  
The Us ◽  
Lower Status ◽  
The Status ◽  
Zero Sum

Abstract Dissatisfied with their relative standing in the world, China and Russia are challenging the US-dominated liberal order. Could US accommodation of their status concerns reduce conflict? The psychological rationale for status accommodation is rooted in the insights of social identity theory (SIT), which argues that persistent status denial leads lower-status groups to “lash out.” Steven Ward (2017) objects that political scientists have misinterpreted SIT. In his view, impermeable group boundaries only affect individuals and do not lead to intergroup conflict. Ward's narrow critique overlooks the larger meaning and significance of SIT, which is about how frustration and anger over status barriers and unfair treatment motivate lower-status groups to challenge the status quo. Social competition is positional and zero-sum. Given the insights of SIT, Ward's recommendation that the United States demonstrate to China and Russia the futility of status competition is likely to provoke a backlash and increase the risk of military conflict. Instead, SIT implies a continuing process of status accommodation and efforts to maintain the legitimacy and stability of US leadership.

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