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Impulsivity is an important determinant of human behaviour, affecting self-control, reasonable thinking and food choices. Recent evidence suggests a role for gut microbiota in human behaviour, but the relationship between gut microbiota and impulsive behaviours remains largely unexplored. To address this knowledge gap, the present study aims to explore the associations between faecal microbiota composition with trait and behavioural impulsivity, in a subcohort of the PREDIMED-Plus trial, including older adults presenting overweight/obesity. Fecal samples (n = 231) were profiled for their microbiota composition using 16 S rRNA amplicon sequencing and impulsivity was determined through four different assessments. Adherence to different dietary patterns was estimated through questionnaires. Beta diversity analyses showed a significant association with the Conner’s Performance Test (CPT) in multivariate-adjusted models, and, in total, 13 bacterial genera associated with CPT. Erysipelotrichaceae UCG 003 showed the highest association with CPT and known butyrate producers such as Butyricicoccus spp., Roseburia spp., and Eubacterium hallii were among the identified bacteria. The bacteria Lachnospiraceae UCG 001, Anaerostipes and Blautia were associated with CPT and also the adherence to healthy and unhealthy plant-based diets. In addition, functional analysis showed a significant negative association between the CPT and the glucuronate and galacturonate metabolic pathways. From the other impulsivity assessments, two more associations were identified, for the genus Phascolarctobacterium with the Stroop test, and the genus Lachnospiraceae GAG 54 with the positive urgency subscore of UPPS-P Impulsive Behaviour Scale. Overall, our findings suggest potential links between the faecal microbiota composition and function with behavioural impulsive inattention as determined by the CPT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antibiotic treatment is common practice in the neonatal ward for the prevention and treatment of sepsis, which is one of the leading causes of mortality and morbidity in preterm infants. Although the effect of antibiotic treatment on microbiota development is well recognised, little attention has been paid to treatment duration. We studied the effect of short and long intravenous antibiotic administration on intestinal microbiota development in preterm infants. Faecal samples from 15 preterm infants (35 ± 1 weeks gestation and 2871 ± 260 g birth weight) exposed to no, short (≤ 3 days) or long (≥ 5 days) treatment with amoxicillin/ceftazidime were collected during the first six postnatal weeks. Microbiota composition was determined through 16S rRNA gene sequencing and by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Short and long antibiotic treat ment significantly lowered the abundance of Bifidobacterium right after treatment (p = 0.027) till postnatal week three (p = 0.028). Long treatment caused Bifidobacterium abundance to remain decreased till postnatal week six (p = 0.009). Antibiotic treatment was effective against members of the Enterobacteriaceae family, but allowed Enterococcus to thrive and remain dominant for up to two weeks after antibiotic treatment discontinuation. Community richness and diversity were not affected by antibiotic treatment, but were positively associated with postnatal age (p < 0.023) and with abundance of Bifidobacterium (p = 0.003). Intravenous antibiotic administration during the first postnatal week greatly affects the infant’s gastrointestinal microbiota. However, quick antibiotic treatment cessation allows for its recovery. Disturbances in microbiota development caused by short and, more extensively, by long antibiotic treatment could affect healthy development of the infant via interference with maturation of the immune system and gastrointestinal tract. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Routine use of antibiotics in livestock animals strongly contributed to the creation of multidrug-resistant Salmonella Typhimurium strains (STM). Vaccination is an alternative to the use of antibiotics but often suffers from low efficacy. The present study investigated whether long-chain inulin (lcITF) and Lactobacillus acidophilus W37 (LaW37) can support vaccination efficacy against STM and if the interventions influence possible gut microbiota changes. Piglets received daily supplementation until sacrifice. Animals were vaccinated on day 25 after birth, one day after weaning, and were challenged with STM on days 52–54. Dietary intervention with lcITF/LaW37 enhanced vaccination efficacy by 2-fold during challenge and resulted in higher relative abundance of Prevotellaceae and lower relative abundance of Lactobacillaceae in faeces. Although strongest microbial effects were observed post STM challenge on day 55, transient effects of the lcITF/LaW37 intervention were also detected on day 10 after birth, and post-weaning on day 30 where increased relative abundance of faecal lactobacilli was correlated with higher faecal consistency. LcITF treatment increased post-weaning feed efficiency and faecal consistency but did not support vaccination efficacy. Vaccination in immune-immature young animals can be enhanced with functional additives which can simultaneously promote health in an ingredient-dependent fashion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Real time in vivo methods are needed to better understand the interplay between diet and the gastrointestinal microbiota. Therefore, a rodent indirect calorimetry system was equipped with hydrogen (H2) and methane (CH4) sensors. H2 production was readily detected in C57BL/6J mice and followed a circadian rhythm. H2 production was increased within 12 hours after first exposure to a lowly-digestible starch diet (LDD) compared to a highly-digestible starch diet (HDD). Marked differences were observed in the faecal microbiota of animals fed the LDD and HDD diets. H2 was identified as a key variable explaining the variation in microbial communities, with specific taxa (including Bacteroides and Parasutterella) correlating with H2 production upon LDD-feeding. CH4 production was undetectable which was in line with absence of CH4 producers in the gut. We conclude that real-time in vivo monitoring of gases provides a non-invasive time-resolved system to explore the interplay between nutrition and gut microbes in a mouse model, and demonstrates potential for translation to other animal models and human studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]