AI Insight
Researchers from DTU and Rigshospitalet have found that human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs), indigestible sugars in breast milk, influence which bacteria colonize an infant's gut during the transition to solid foods. This effect extends beyond the breastfeeding period and continues to shape the gut microbiota composition later in life. The study demonstrates that breast milk's impact on gut bacteria development lasts longer than scientists previously understood.
Why it matters
This research could inform nutritional strategies for infants, particularly those who are formula-fed, and may lead to improved probiotic or prebiotic supplements that mimic the beneficial effects of HMOs. Understanding the long-term influence of early nutrition on gut bacteria could also help explain developmental differences in immune function and overall health outcomes.
Understand the Science
Breast milk helps shape the gut microbiota for longer than previously thought. Researchers from DTU and Rigshospitalet have discovered that sugars in breast milk, which are nondigestible by the infant—so-called human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs)—influence which bacteria thrive in the gut during the transition to solid food, and that this influence persists later in life. The findings have been published in Nature Communications.