Microbiome or no microbiome: are we looking at the prenatal environment through the right lens?

• Published in: Microbiome Vol. 9; no. 1; p. 9
• Main Authors: Fricke, W Florian, Ravel, Jacques
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 12.01.2021; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Adaptation; Bacteria; Biological activity; Biomass; Cell walls; Deoxyribonucleic acid; DNA; DNA sequencing; Editorials; Female; Fetus - microbiology; Fetuses; Humans; Hypotheses; Laboratories; Microbiomes; Microbiota; Nucleotide sequencing; Open data; Phagocytes; Placenta; Placenta - microbiology; Pregnancy; Pregnant women; Process controls; RNA; Uncertainty; Uterus - microbiology
• ISSN: 2049-2618; 2049-2618
• DOI: 10.1186/s40168-020-00947-1

In 2014 Aagaard et al. published a study that reported on the presence of a bacterial microbiota in placental specimens collected from healthy pregnant women after delivery [1]. (2020), while not the first report, provided multiple lines of evidence for the presence of bacterial DNA and cellular structures in fetal intestines, as well as cultivable Micrococcus luteus-related bacteria that appeared to show adaptations to the fetal environment, including growth on pregnancy hormones and survival within phagocytic cells [4]. [...]if biological activity is required to confirm a physiological role, it would not have to be limited to live microbes, as bacterial DNA or microbial cell wall components could also invoke a host response. [...]with functional assays that measure microbiome relevance based on host response, not just presence of microbes or their DNA, one could study the microbiome through the lens of the host and advance our understanding of the microbiome’s role for human health. [...]proof of microbiome presence should not be considered as an end in itself, but health benefits to the infant need to be established.