Adverse effect of early-life high-fat/high-carbohydrate (Western) diet on bacterial community in the distal bowel of mice

Obesity and other lifestyle diseases in modern society can be related to historical dietary changes from diets balanced in omega-6 and omega-3 to the unbalanced Western-type diet. It is recognized that diet influences the murine and human gut microbiome, and most research indicates that microbial diversity and composition are altered by high-fat diets (HFDs). However, good knowledge about the effects of early exposure to HFD on the maturation and structure of the bacterial community is limited. Using mice as model, we hypothesized that an HFD alters the early dynamic of the gut bacterial community toward an unstable/unhealthy state. By sequencing the V3 and V4 regions of the 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid gene, we investigated the bacterial community in fecal samples of mice fed a control diet and an HFD at weaning (sampling time 1) and after 8 weeks of dietary intervention (11 weeks of age; sampling time 2). Natural temporal microbiome maturation was evidenced by a general increase in microbial diversity and shifts in microbial community between sampling times 1 and 2 toward a mature community. However, the HFD led to significant structural segregation of the microbiome compared with controls; the HFD diet repressed health-enhancing bacteria (eg, Bifidobacterium and Akkermansia) and promoted health-detracting bacteria (ie, those associated with gut disorders, eg, Dorea). We suggest that early-life consumption of HFD negatively impacts the natural gut bacterial community maturation leading toward a potentially persistent unhealthy stage. (C) 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.