AUTHOR=Cheng Lianghui , Kiewiet Mensiena B. G. , Logtenberg Madelon J. , Groeneveld Andre , Nauta Arjen , Schols Henk A. , Walvoort Marthe T. C. , Harmsen Hermie J. M. , de Vos Paul 

TITLE=Effects of Different Human Milk Oligosaccharides on Growth of Bifidobacteria in Monoculture and Co-culture With Faecalibacterium prausnitzii

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2020

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2020.569700

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2020.569700

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p>Human milk oligosaccharides (hMOs) are important bioactive components in mother’s milk contributing to infant health by supporting colonization and growth of gut microbes. In particular, <italic>Bifidobacterium</italic> genus is considered to be supported by hMOs. Approximately 200 different hMOs have been discovered and characterized, but only a few abundant hMOs can be produced in sufficient amounts to be applied in infant formula. These hMOs are usually supplied in infant formula as single molecule, and it is unknown which and how individual hMOs support growth of individual gut bacteria. To investigate how individual hMOs influence growth of several relevant intestinal bacteria species, we studied the effects of three hMOs (2′-fucosyllactose, 3-fucosyllactose, and 6′-sialyllactose) and an hMO acid hydrolysate (lacto-N-triose) on three <italic>Bifidobacteria</italic> and one <italic>Faecalibacterium</italic> and introduced a co-culture system of two bacterial strains to study possible cross-feeding in presence and absence of hMOs. We observed that in monoculture, <italic>Bifidobacterium longum</italic> subsp. <italic>infantis</italic> could grow well on all hMOs but in a structure-dependent way. <italic>Faecalibacterium prausnitzii</italic> reached a lower cell density on the hMOs in stationary phase compared to glucose, while <italic>B. longum</italic> subsp. <italic>longum</italic> and <italic>Bifidobacterium adolescentis</italic> were not able to grow on the tested hMOs. In a co-culture of <italic>B. longum</italic> subsp. <italic>infantis</italic> with <italic>F. prausnitzii</italic>, different effects were observed with the different hMOs; 6′-sialyllactose, rather than 2′-fucosyllactose, 3-fucosyllactose, and lacto-N-triose, was able to promote the growth of <italic>B. longum</italic> subsp. <italic>infantis</italic>. Our observations demonstrate that effects of hMOs on the tested gut microbiota are hMO-specific and provide new means to support growth of these specific beneficial microorganisms in the intestine.</p>