Mom Knows Best: The Universality of Maternal Microbial Transmission | Zendy

Lisa J. Funkhouser | Zendy; Seth R. Bordenstein | Zendy

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Mom Knows Best: The Universality of Maternal Microbial Transmission

Author(s) -

Lisa J. Funkhouser,

Seth R. Bordenstein

Publication year - 2013

Publication title -

plos biology

Language(s) - English

Resource type - Journals

SCImago Journal Rank - 4.127

H-Index - 271

eISSN - 1545-7885

pISSN - 1544-9173

DOI - 10.1371/journal.pbio.1001631

Subject(s) - biology , microbiome , breastfeeding , transmission (telecommunications) , premise , human microbiome , phenomenon , universality (dynamical systems) , evolutionary biology , genetics , epistemology , medicine , philosophy , pathology , physics , quantum mechanics , electrical engineering , engineering

The sterile womb paradigm is an enduring premise in biology that human infants are born sterile. Recent studies suggest that infants incorporate an initial microbiome before birth and receive copious supplementation of maternal microbes through birth and breastfeeding. Moreover, evidence for microbial maternal transmission is increasingly widespread across animals. This collective knowledge compels a paradigm shift—one in which maternal transmission of microbes advances from a taxonomically specialized phenomenon to a universal one in animals. It also engenders fresh views on the assembly of the microbiome, its role in animal evolution, and applications to human health and disease

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