Marmoset Models of Microbiome

The gut microbiome plays an important role in a variety of health issues including obesity, allergies, and diabetes. In particular, early diet transitions, including the transition from breast milk to solid food during infancy, is a major component in altering an individual\u27s complex community of gastrointestinal microbiota that have lasting effects on the health of the individual across the lifespan. The marmoset monkey is an important translational model that can advance our understanding of how the gut microbiome changes across these key developmental transitions. In this study, fecal samples were collected weekly from infant marmosets throughout development and were categorized across five different groups based on diet and age. These samples were sequenced to determine the bacteria diversity and abundance in the microbiome of the individuals. We demonstrated that marmoset microbiomes contained a core set of operational taxonomic units (OTUs), a type of genetic fingerprint, that were shared across all five diet and age types. Importantly, marmosets also possessed a variety of specific OTUs that were unique to the varying diets and ages, including times of transition in the individuals diet. These results suggest differences in the timing of the diet transitions significantly impact microbiome composition during development. These changes have important implications on individual dispositions for specific health outcomes, as the microbiome that is acquired early in life is a crucial part of the foundation for health outcomes across the lifespan