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Comparative Study
. 2011 Oct;90(10):1183-8.
doi: 10.1177/0022034511418973. Epub 2011 Aug 9.

Mode of birth delivery affects oral microbiota in infants

P Lif Holgerson  1 , L Harnevik, O Hernell, A C R Tanner, I Johansson
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Mode of birth delivery affects oral microbiota in infants

P Lif Holgerson et al. J Dent Res. 2011 Oct.

Abstract

Establishment of the microbiota of the gut has been shown to differ between infants delivered by Caesarian section (C-section) and those delivered vaginally. The aim of the present study was to compare the oral microbiota in infants delivered by these different routes. The oral biofilm was assayed by the Human Oral Microbe Identification Microarray (HOMIM) in healthy three-month-old infants, 38 infants born by C-section, and 25 infants delivered vaginally. Among over 300 bacterial taxa targeted by the HOMIM microarray, Slackia exigua was detected only in infants delivered by C-section. Further, significantly more bacterial taxa were detected in the infants delivered vaginally (79 species/species clusters) compared with infants delivered by C-section (54 species/species clusters). Multivariate modeling revealed a strong model that separated the microbiota of C-section and vaginally delivered infants into two distinct colonization patterns. In conclusion, our study indicated differences in the oral microbiota in infants due to mode of delivery, with vaginally delivered infants having a higher number of taxa detected by the HOMIM microarray.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure.
Figure.
Reactivity to 24 probes (out of 85 probe reactions) that differed significantly (p < 0.005) or marginally (p < 0.01) in three-month-old infants born vaginally or by Caesarian section. ***p ≤ 0.005, **p < 0.01 tested by Chi-square. No indication for p-values between 0.02 and 0.01.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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