Maturational patterns of the infant gut mycobiome are associated with early-life body mass index

Mackenzie W Gutierrez; Emily M Mercer; Shirin Moossavi; Isabelle Laforest-Lapointe; Myrtha E Reyna; Allan B Becker; Elinor Simons; Piush J Mandhane; Stuart E Turvey; Theo J Moraes; Malcolm R Sears; Padmaja Subbarao; Meghan B Azad; Marie-Claire Arrieta

doi:10.1016/j.xcrm.2023.100928

Maturational patterns of the infant gut mycobiome are associated with early-life body mass index

Cell Rep Med. 2023 Feb 21;4(2):100928. doi: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2023.100928. Epub 2023 Feb 2.

Affiliations

¹ Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada; Department of Pediatrics, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada; International Microbiome Center, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada; Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada.
² Department of Biology, University of Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC J1K 2R1, Canada.
³ Department of Pediatrics, Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5G 1X8, Canada.
⁴ Children's Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3E 3P4, Canada; Developmental Origins of Chronic Diseases in Children Network (DEVOTION), Winnipeg, MB, Canada; Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3E 3P4, Canada.
⁵ Department of Pediatrics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2R7, Canada.
⁶ Department of Pediatrics, BC Children's Hospital, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6H 3N1, Canada.
⁷ Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4K1, Canada.
⁸ Department of Pediatrics, Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5G 1X8, Canada; Department of Physiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada.
⁹ Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada; Department of Pediatrics, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada; International Microbiome Center, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada; Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada. Electronic address: marie.arrieta@ucalgary.ca.

Abstract

Unlike the bacterial microbiome, the role of early-life gut fungi in host metabolism and childhood obesity development remains poorly characterized. To address this, we investigate the relationship between the gut mycobiome of 100 infants from the Canadian Healthy Infant Longitudinal Development (CHILD) Cohort Study and body mass index Z scores (BMIz) in the first 5 years of life. An increase in fungal richness during the first year of life is linked to parental and infant BMI. The relationship between richness pattern and early-life BMIz is modified by maternal BMI, maternal diet, infant antibiotic exposure, and bacterial beta diversity. Further, the abundances of Saccharomyces, Rhodotorula, and Malassezia are differentially associated with early-life BMIz. Using structural equation modeling, we determine that the mycobiome's contribution to BMIz is likely mediated by the bacterial microbiome. This demonstrates that mycobiome maturation and infant growth trajectories are distinctly linked, advocating for inclusion of fungi in larger pediatric microbiome studies.

Keywords: BMI Z score; CHILD Cohort Study; childhood weight gain; early life; gut fungi; infant growth; microbiome; mycobiome; obesity.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Body Mass Index
Canada
Child
Cohort Studies
Gastrointestinal Microbiome*
Humans
Infant
Mycobiome*
Pediatric Obesity*