PrimeGerm : Effects and consequences of neonatal gut community perturbation by antibiotics

The extreme success of antibiotics for treatment of infectious diseases has caused increased attention towards non-infectious so called life-style diseases including type 2 diabetes, obesity and inflammatory bowel diseases. Although the etiology of these diseases is not fully understood, they are inevitably linked to host-microbe interactions driven by the dynamics of the naturally occurring microbial gut community.

Modulation of this microbiota by exposure to specific antibiotics, especially during early life, is known to disrupt the natural balance of the fine-tuned microbial ecosystem, which may lead to adverse physiological effects later in life including increased risk of obesity.

We will investigate specific effects of different classes of commonly used antibiotics on the developing gut microbiota of neonate mice and further determine effects on gut permeability and host metabolic parameters. This will provide valuable new insight for risk assessment of antibiotics.