Meconium Microbiome of Very Preterm Infants across Germany
Jonas Klopp, Pamela Ferretti, Claudius U. Meyer, Katja Hilbert, Annette Haiß, Janina Marißen, Philipp Henneke, Hannes Hudalla, Sabine Pirr, Dorothee Viemann, Michael Zemlin, Sofia K. Forslund, Christoph Härtel, Peer Bork, Stephan Gehring, Thea Van Rossum
Abstract
, rapid colonization occurs after birth. The meconium microbiome has been associated with short-term and long-term negative health outcomes, but its composition is not yet well described, especially in preterm infants. We provide a characterization of the microbiome structure and composition of infant meconium and maternal feces from a large study cohort and propose a method to evaluate meconium samples for bacterial sequencing suitability. These findings provide a foundational characterization of an understudied portion of the human microbiome and will aid the design of future meconium microbiome studies.