Loading...
Systemic antibiotic therapy can alter the gut microbiome, especially during the first two years of life when the complex symbiosis between intestinal flora and an infant's initially sterile gut develops. The use of high-throughput polymerase-chain-reaction 16S ribosomal RNA sequencing now makes it possible to investigate quantitative changes in the various species of the gut microbiome.
Using this sequencing technique, researchers in Ireland analyzed the stools of 18 infants: 9 who had been treated within 48 hours after birth with parenteral ampicillin and gentamicin and 9 age-matched, untreated controls. Treated infants' stool samples were collected 4 and 8 weeks after cessation of antibiotic treatment.
Compared with controls, antibiotic-tre…