Alkek Center for Metagenomics and Microbiome Research, Department of Molecular Virology and Microbiology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
Department of Food Science and Technology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA.
Nat Commun. 2022 Jun 7;13(1):3151. doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-30686-w.
Fungal infections are a major health problem that often begin in the gastrointestinal tract. Gut microbe interactions in early childhood are critical for proper immune responses, yet there is little known about the development of the fungal population from infancy into childhood. Here, as part of the TEDDY (The Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young) study, we examine stool samples of 888 children from 3 to 48 months and find considerable differences between fungi and bacteria. The metagenomic relative abundance of fungi was extremely low but increased while weaning from milk and formula. Overall fungal diversity remained constant over time, in contrast with the increase in bacterial diversity. Fungal profiles had high temporal variation, but there was less variation from month-to-month in an individual than among different children of the same age. Fungal composition varied with geography, diet, and the use of probiotics. Multiple Candida spp. were at higher relative abundance in children than adults, while Malassezia and certain food-associated fungi were lower in children. There were only subtle fungal differences associated with the subset of children that developed islet autoimmunity or type 1 diabetes. Having proper fungal exposures may be crucial for children to establish appropriate responses to fungi and limit the risk of infection: the data here suggests those gastrointestinal exposures are limited and variable.
真菌感染是一个主要的健康问题，通常始于胃肠道。婴幼儿时期的肠道微生物相互作用对于适当的免疫反应至关重要，但对于从婴儿期到儿童期真菌种群的发展知之甚少。在这里，作为 TEDDY（儿童期糖尿病的环境决定因素）研究的一部分，我们检查了 888 名 3 至 48 个月大的儿童的粪便样本，发现真菌和细菌之间存在很大差异。真菌的宏基因组相对丰度极低，但在从牛奶和配方奶断奶时增加。总体而言，真菌多样性随时间保持不变，而细菌多样性则增加。真菌图谱具有很高的时间变异性，但在个体之间的变化比在同一年龄的不同儿童之间的变化要小。真菌组成因地理位置、饮食和益生菌的使用而有所不同。与成年人相比，儿童体内的多种假丝酵母菌属相对丰度较高，而马拉色菌和某些与食物相关的真菌在儿童体内含量较低。与自身免疫或 1 型糖尿病发展相关的儿童子集只有细微的真菌差异。适当的真菌暴露对于儿童建立对真菌的适当反应并限制感染风险可能至关重要：这里的数据表明，这些胃肠道暴露是有限且多变的。
