Next Generation Science Institute, Morinaga Milk Industry Co., Ltd, Zama, Kanagawa, Japan.
APC Microbiome Institute and School of Microbiology, National University of Ireland, Western Road, Cork, Ireland.
Sci Rep. 2018 Jan 8;8(1):85. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-18391-x.
Bifidobacterium longum subsp. longum represents one of the most prevalent bifidobacterial species in the infant, adult and elderly (human) gut. In the current study, we performed a comparative genome analysis involving 145 B. longum representatives, including 113 B. longum subsp. longum strains obtained from healthy Japanese subjects aged between 0 and 98 years. Although MCL clustering did not reveal any correlation between isolated strains and subject age, certain characteristics appear to be more prevalent among strains corresponding to specific host ages, such as genes involved in carbohydrate metabolism and environmental response. Remarkably, a substantial number of strains appeared to have been transmitted across family members, a phenomenon that was shown not to be confined to mother-infant pairs. This suggests that the ubiquitous distribution of B. longum subsp. longum across the human lifespan is at least partly due to extensive transmission between relatives. Our findings form a foundation for future research aimed at unraveling the mechanisms that allow B. longum strains to successfully transfer between human hosts, where they then colonize and persist in the gut environment throughout the host's lifespan.
长双歧杆菌亚种。长双歧杆菌是婴儿、成人和老年人（人类）肠道中最常见的双歧杆菌之一。在本研究中，我们对 145 个长双歧杆菌代表进行了比较基因组分析，包括从 0 至 98 岁的健康日本受试者中获得的 113 个长双歧杆菌亚种。尽管 MCL 聚类没有显示分离株与宿主年龄之间存在任何相关性，但某些特征似乎在与特定宿主年龄相对应的菌株中更为普遍，例如参与碳水化合物代谢和环境响应的基因。值得注意的是，大量菌株似乎已经在家庭成员之间传播，这种现象并非仅限于母婴对。这表明长双歧杆菌亚种在人类寿命中的广泛分布至少部分是由于亲属之间的广泛传播。我们的研究结果为未来的研究奠定了基础，旨在揭示允许长双歧杆菌菌株在人类宿主之间成功转移的机制，然后在宿主的整个生命周期中，它们在肠道环境中定植和持续存在。
