Antibiotics Disrupt Infants' Gut Microbiome, Studies Suggest (IMAGE)

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

Antibiotics Disrupt Infants' Gut Microbiome, Studies Suggest

Caption

The gut microbiome, the community of bugs that reside in our intestines, plays a critical role in regulating the body's metabolism and immune defenses. A pair of new studies offers a window into infants' gut microbiome, including how antibiotic treatment, birth mode, and diet may alter its development. This material relates to a paper that appeared in the 17 June 2016 issue of Science Translational Medicine, published by AAAS. The paper, by M. Yassour at Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University in Cambridge, MA, and colleagues was titled, "Natural history of the infant gut microbiome and impact of antibiotic treatment on bacterial strain diversity and stability."

Credit

V. Altounian / <i>Science Translational Medicine</i> (2016)

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