MSGID: 1:317/3 64226d68   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    Beneficial bacteria in the infant gut uses nitrogen from breast milk to   
   support baby's health    
      
     Date:   
         March 27, 2023   
     Source:   
         University of Massachusetts Amherst   
     Summary:   
         A nutrition scientist who has spent his career studying breast milk   
         has demonstrated how beneficial microbes in the gut of infants   
         use nitrogen from human milk to support pediatric nutrition and   
         development.   
      
      
         Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIN Email   
   FULL STORY   
   ==========================================================================   
   A University of Massachusetts Amherst nutrition scientist who has spent   
   his career studying breast milk has demonstrated how beneficial microbes   
   in the gut of infants use nitrogen from human milk to support pediatric   
   nutrition and development.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   "The molecules in breast milk not only feed the baby but also feed   
   the baby's microbiome," says David Sela, associate professor of food   
   science and director of the Fergus M. Clydesdale Center for Foods for   
   Health and Wellness. "This changed the way people think about the role   
   of human milk in infant nutrition."  Microbes that feed on breast milk   
   play key roles in an infant's growth, from jump-starting the immune and   
   digestive systems to aiding in brain development.   
      
   The molecular underpinnings of these processes, however, are not well   
   understood.   
      
   More than a decade ago, Sela and his team noticed that Bifidobacterium   
   infantis, a beneficial bacterium that colonizes the infant gut, had   
   the ability to degrade urea, a molecule that mammals excrete as waste   
   in urine.   
      
   "There's a lot of urea in breast milk and since it's typically excreted   
   out of the system, and this major colonizer has the ability to degrade   
   it, we thought it's possible that the microbes are utilizing this waste   
   product as a nitrogen source within the infant gut," Sela says.   
      
   In a paper published Monday, March 27, in the journal Gut Microbes,   
   senior author Sela describes how B. infantisutilizes urea from human   
   milk to recycle nitrogen in the infant's gut microbiome. The paper lays   
   the groundwork for applying this discovery to improve infant health   
   around the world by identifying molecular targets to improve nitrogen   
   metabolism efficiency.   
      
   "This might lead to nutritional interventions and diagnostic tools to   
   address infant nutrition, not only in the Western world, but also in   
   developing countries," Sela says. "If we have a better understanding   
   of how the microbiome contributes to nutrition, we have a better   
   understanding of how to provide nourishment to not only healthy infants   
   but also infants who are preterm or are more predisposed to diseases,   
   sickness and conditions that are deleterious to their health."  After   
   years of research, Sela and his team in the Sela Lab have achieved an   
   understanding of the process from the microbial side, which was "the   
   overarching objective of the project." Since 2021, Sela's research   
   has been funded by a five-year, $1.69 million grant from the National   
   Institute of Child Health and Human Development.   
      
   To test their hypothesis, researchers in the Sela lab, including lead   
   author Xiaomeng You, a graduate research assistant, demonstrated that   
   the B. infantis bacteria, when fed urea, were able to use it as a   
   nitrogen source.   
      
   They then tracked the urea nitrogen with a stable isotope. "It gets   
   incorporated into all kinds of bacterial products that the bacteria   
   makes, and that was really insightful," Sela says. "It gives us the   
   strongest evidence that the bacteria is utilizing urea nitrogen for its   
   basic metabolism."  The next step is to examine the process in the human   
   system -- "looking at mom's milk, infant growth and development, and   
   microbiome function as it pertains to urea utilization," Sela says. "If   
   we want to have clinical or nutritional relevancy in humans, we have   
   to understand how it works in babies."  Sela and his team are eager to   
   tackle the ongoing challenges. "There are a lot of open questions that   
   we generated from this study that we're excited to follow up on."   
       * RELATED_TOPICS   
             o Health_&_Medicine   
                   # Breastfeeding # Infant's_Health # Breast_Cancer   
             o Mind_&_Brain   
                   # Parenting # Infant_and_Preschool_Learning #   
                   Child_Development   
             o Plants_&_Animals   
                   # Organic # Soil_Types # Bacteria   
       * RELATED_TERMS   
             o Breastfeeding o Colostrum o Nutrition_and_pregnancy o   
             Dairy_cattle o Mammary_gland o Dairy_product o BRCA1 o Camel   
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Story Source: Materials provided by   
   University_of_Massachusetts_Amherst. Note: Content may be edited for   
   style and length.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Journal Reference:   
      1. Xiaomeng You, Asha Rani, Ezgi O"zcan, Yang Lyu, David A. Sela.   
      
         Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis utilizes human milk urea to   
         recycle nitrogen within the infant gut microbiome. Gut Microbes,   
         2023; 15 (1) DOI: 10.1080/19490976.2023.2192546   
   ==========================================================================   
      
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/03/230327160617.htm   
      
   --- up 1 year, 4 weeks, 10 hours, 50 minutes   
    * Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1:317/3)   
   SEEN-BY: 15/0 106/201 114/705 123/120 153/7715 226/30 227/114 229/110   
   SEEN-BY: 229/111 112 113 307 317 400 426 428 470 664 700 292/854 298/25   
   SEEN-BY: 305/3 317/3 320/219 396/45   
   PATH: 317/3 229/426