Pediatric Microbiome in Health and Disease: Recent Advances

With maternal microbiota transmission to a newborn, gut microbial colonization of newborn, and the temporal progression of the composition of the gut microbiota in childhood development, microbial composition plays a significant role in the pediatric population. Maternal microbiota, mode of delivery, feeding methods, introduction to solid foods, nutrition, and antibiotics can influence the microbiome which then impact heath and growth of a child. In addition, alterations in the microbiome composition may be involved in the pathogenesis of many diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), preterm birth, autoimmune disease, asthma, and obesity.

The Research Topic aims to highlight the latest research on the development of the microbiome in children and elucidate the roles of the microbiome in health and disease states in pediatric population. This will provide the most recent advances in the field and an invaluable resource for pediatric microbiome researchers.

This Research Topic welcomes original research, review, and mini-review articles, which cover, but not limited to, the following themes:

• Impact of microbiome on child growth/development
• Maternal microbiota, delivery mode, antibiotic exposure, feeding methods and prenatal/early infancy growth
• Maternal diet/dietary supplements before and during pregnancy (the effect of maternal gut microbial composition on the initial infant gut colonization)
• Preterm birth and low birth weight
• Dietary intake in children and gut microbial community structure
• Immune system development
• Gut microbiota and neurodevelopment in early childhood
• The link and association between microbiome and pediatric diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), type I diabetes, obesity, asthma/allergy, and autism.