Modulation of the Microbiome by Diet in Infants and Adults

The composition of the gastrointestinal microbiota has profound influences on overall health and on host-microbe interactions within humans. Dietary interventions, and consumption of health-promoting components, such as probiotics and prebiotics, are of interest for their influence on microbiome composition. Functional dietary components are of special importance in the diet of infants because they can be fundamental to establishing a healthy microbiome from the onset of life. An infant diet consisting of mother’s-own breastmilk is considered to the ‘gold-standard’ for infants, however, for many complex and personal reasons, not all infants are able to breastfeed. Breastfed infants and formula fed infants differ not only in their gastrointestinal microbiota but can also differ in developmental benchmarks and long-term health outcomes. Therefore, there is a scientific need for both researchers and industry professionals to identify components within breastmilk to be synthesized and incorporated into infant formulas for their protective, immunological, or bioactive roles, and to ultimately generate products that are more similar to human breastmilk. In this thesis we assess two functional components of diet, live microbe-containing fermented foods and the milk fat globule membrane for their impact on gastrointestinal composition and possible effects on human health. Advisors: Jennifer M. Auchtung and Robert W. Hutkin