Nursery Peers Shape Infant Gut Microbiome

Researchers assess baby-to-baby gut microbiome transmission in nursery settings.

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1

Infants acquired more gut microbial strains from nursery peers than from family members after 3 months of nursery attendance.
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Baby-to-baby microbial transmission in nurseries significantly altered infant gut microbiome composition during early attendance.
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By the end of the first nursery term, strain-sharing rates among infants reached a mean of 20%, increasing from 2.5 at baseline.
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Nursery-derived strains accounted for nearly 40% of the infant gut microbiome by the end of the first term.
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Antibiotic exposure reduced strain retention in infants, while having siblings increased baseline microbiome diversity.