![]() The normal gut microbiota is estimated to consist of up to 100 trillion microorganisms, comprising between 500 to 3,000 species, and nearly 5 million unique genes, which is 100 times more genes than the human genome. While microbes colonize every available surface in and on the body, the gut microbiome is most widely studied and consists of trillions of microbes and millions of functional genes, living in cooperation with each other and with the host. Microbial life is known to develop in biological and anatomical niches and to be influenced by a host of ecological and genetic factors. ![]() The microbiota are so significant to health that NIH launched the Human Microbiome Project in 2007 and, along with a diverse array of funding sources globally, continues to fund an extraordinary array of host-microbe investigations. The rich diversity of microbial life represents an ancient evolutionary process of balance and benefit between host immunity and microbial growth. The fact that microbial life provides considerable feedback on nearly all aspects of human physiology has not been widely appreciated. Human-associated microbial life, which is also highly diverse, is influenced by many of the same factors. The variability of human life is extraordinary, yet this is not surprising considering the multitudinous influences wrought upon us by genetics, culture, and the environment. The paper concludes with speculation about how the VLBW infants’ gut microbiome might function through host-microbe interactions to contribute to the sequelae of preterm birth, including its influence on growth, development, and general health of the infant host. This knowledge gap must be filled to inform a healthcare system that can provide for the growth, health, and development of VLBW infants. However, to the best of our knowledge, there are currently no studies prospectively mapping the gut microbiome of VLBW infants through early childhood. Current research provides evidence that the gut microbiome interacts extensively with many physiological systems and metabolic processes in the developing infant. The role of human milk in normal gut microbial development is emphasized, along with the role of the gut microbiome in immune development and gastroenteric health. This review provides a synthesis of our understanding of the normal development of the infant gut microbiome and contrasts this with dysbiotic development in the VLBW infant. ![]() ![]() However, little is known about the developmental succession of the microbiota in preterm infants as they grow and mature. The very low birth weight (VLBW) infant is at great risk for marked dysbiosis of the gut microbiome due to multiple factors, including physiological immaturity and prenatal/postnatal influences that disrupt the development of a normal gut flora. ![]()
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