Decoding the bacterial microbiome of preterm babies – insights, unknowns and opportunities

This article reviews the importance of the gut bacteria (microbiome) to neonatal health, explaining recent advances in quantifying and analysing the complex community structures of the gut, the way in which the newborn preterm infant establishes its microbiome, and threats and challenges associated with being born prematurely. Data suggesting a microbiomic change in association with necrotising enterocolitis and late onset sepsis are reviewed and opportunities for enhanced understanding and future studies are described.

Thomas Skeath, Christopher Stewart, Janet Elizabeth Berrington