Effects of Antibiotics on the Development and Colonization of Preterm Gut Microbiota: A Short Review

Abstract

The gut microbiota plays a vital role in the development of the immune system, nutrient absorption, and resistance to pathogen colonization. Antibiotics are among the many factors that affect and influence the establishment of the microbiota. Neonates, particularly those born prematurely, represent an interesting population because they receive early and often extensive antibiotic therapy in the first year of life. It is important to understand the effects of these antibiotics in reshaping and colonization of the intestinal microbiome. Antibiotic therapy in preterm infants can dramatically affect the gut microbiome. Early establishment of the gut microbiome is suspected to have a particularly profound impact in protecting the gut from infectious disease and on long-term subsequent health by predisposing individuals to atopic or autoimmune disease later in life. This review gathers relevant literature on the effects of antibiotics on the preterm gut microbiota, both on their composition and development. This review indicates that some antibiotic treatments are associated with decreased species richness and diversity. Treatment with antibiotics encouraged resistance genes and proliferation of multidrug-resistant organisms. Antibiotic regimens bring about population shifts and reshape the abundant microbial colonization. We therefore demonstrated the impact of antibiotics on the composition of the microbial community and its establishment from the gut of preterm infants during their early days of life.