Robertson, Ruairi CC, Edens, Thaddeus JJ, Carr, Lynnea, Mutasa, Kuda, Gough, Ethan KK, Evans, Ceri 
ORCID: 0000-0001-9122-9748, Geum, Hyun Min, Baharmand, Iman, Gill, Sandeep KK, Ntozini, Robert et al (show 11 more authors)
(2023)
The gut microbiome and early-life growth in a population with high prevalence of stunting
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS, 14 (1).
654-.
ISSN 2041-1723, 2041-1723
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The gut microbiome and early-life growth in a population with high prevalence of stunting.pdf - Open Access published version Download (4MB) | Preview |
Abstract
Stunting affects one-in-five children globally and is associated with greater infectious morbidity, mortality and neurodevelopmental deficits. Recent evidence suggests that the early-life gut microbiome affects child growth through immune, metabolic and endocrine pathways. Using whole metagenomic sequencing, we map the assembly of the gut microbiome in 335 children from rural Zimbabwe from 1–18 months of age who were enrolled in the Sanitation, Hygiene, Infant Nutrition Efficacy Trial (SHINE; NCT01824940), a randomized trial of improved water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and infant and young child feeding (IYCF). Here, we show that the early-life gut microbiome undergoes programmed assembly that is unresponsive to the randomized interventions intended to improve linear growth. However, maternal HIV infection is associated with over-diversification and over-maturity of the early-life gut microbiome in their uninfected children, in addition to reduced abundance of Bifidobacterium species. Using machine learning models (XGBoost), we show that taxonomic microbiome features are poorly predictive of child growth, however functional metagenomic features, particularly B-vitamin and nucleotide biosynthesis pathways, moderately predict both attained linear and ponderal growth and growth velocity. New approaches targeting the gut microbiome in early childhood may complement efforts to combat child undernutrition.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Humans, HIV Infections, Growth Disorders, Prevalence, Water Supply, Child, Child, Preschool, Infant, Gastrointestinal Microbiome |
| Divisions: | Faculty of Health & Life Sciences Faculty of Health & Life Sciences > Inst. Infection, Vet & Ecological Sciences |
| Depositing User: | Symplectic Admin |
| Date Deposited: | 21 Apr 2023 15:43 |
| Last Modified: | 16 Jun 2026 07:48 |
| DOI: | 10.1038/s41467-023-36135-6 |
| Related Websites: | |
| URI: | https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3169878 |
| Disclaimer: | The University of Liverpool is not responsible for content contained on other websites from links within repository metadata. Please contact us if you notice anything that appears incorrect or inappropriate. |
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