Bacteria acquire novel DNA through horizontal gene transfer (HGT), a process that enables
an organism to rapidly adapt to changing environmental conditions, provides a competitive …

The human gut microbiome is a dynamic collection of bacteria, archaea, fungi, and viruses
that performs essential functions for immune development, pathogen colonization …

The link between the gut microbiome and health has recently garnered considerable interest
in its employment for medicinal purposes. Since the early microbiota exhibits more flexibility …

Early life gut microbiota have been increasingly recognized as major contributors to short
and/or long-term human health and diseases. Numerous studies have demonstrated that …

In the weeks after birth, the gut acquires a nascent microbiome, and starts its transition to
bacterial population equilibrium. This early-in-life microbial population quite likely influences …

Hospitalized preterm infants receive frequent and often prolonged exposures to antibiotics
because they are vulnerable to infection. It is not known whether the short-term effects of …

Understanding how microbial communities develop is essential for predicting and directing
their future states. Ecological theory suggests that community development is often …

Perturbations to the infant gut microbiome during the first weeks to months of life affect
growth, development and health. In particular, assembly of an altered intestinal microbiota …

Human microbiota assembly commences at birth, seeded by both maternal and
environmental microorganisms. Ecological theory postulates that primary colonizers dictate …

Abstract Development of the preterm infant gut microbiota is emerging as a critical research
priority 1. Since preterm infants almost universally receive early and often extended …