Fig. 4: Fecal microbiota transplant (FMT) from antibiotic-exposed neonates induces changes in weight gain and bacterial composition in germ-free mice. | Nature Communications

Fig. 4: Fecal microbiota transplant (FMT) from antibiotic-exposed neonates induces changes in weight gain and bacterial composition in germ-free mice.

From: Neonatal antibiotic exposure impairs child growth during the first six years of life by perturbing intestinal microbial colonization

Fig. 4: Fecal microbiota transplant (FMT) from antibiotic-exposed neonates induces changes in weight gain and bacterial composition in germ-free mice.

(a) Male mice receiving FMT from 1-month old infants exposed to neonatal antibiotics (pink) gained significantly less weight compared to mice receiving FMT from non-exposed infants (blue) starting from day 7 (***p ≤ 0.001). (b) Female mice receiving FMT from antibiotic-exposed neonates (pink) exhibit only a transient difference in growth 3 days after transplantation (p = 0.02). (c) Fecal microbiota alpha diversity comparison based on phylogenetic diversity. Significant differences in bacterial richness between mice receiving FMT from control and antibiotic-exposed infants (day 14 p = 0.04; day 21 p = 0.013; day 35 p = 0.004; day 43 p = 0.01). PCoA based on Unweighted UniFrac distances in mice receiving FMT from control (d) antibiotic-exposed (e) infants at six-time points, 3 (green), 7 (yellow), 14 (red), 21 (blue), 35 (purple) and 43 (orange) days after FMT. (For (A) control group, n = 8–9; abx group, n = 12. For (c–e), control group, day 3,14,21,35 and 43, n = 12; day 7, n = 11. Abx group, day 3, n = 9; day 7, n = 6; day 14,21,35 and 43, n = 8. Four samples from control infants and 3 samples from antibiotic-treated infants were used for fecal transplantation). (*p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001 and ****p < 0.0001; weight data represent the mean ± SEM of at least four samples in each group).

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