AUTHOR=Jones Jacquelyn , Reinke Stacey N. , Mousavi-Derazmahalleh Mahsa , Palmer Debra J. , Christophersen Claus T. 

TITLE=Changes to the Gut Microbiome in Young Children Showing Early Behavioral Signs of Autism

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=Volume 13 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2022.905901

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2022.905901

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=The human gut microbiome has increasingly been associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), which is a neurological developmental disorder, characterized by impairments to social interaction. The ability of the gut microbiota to signal across the gut-brain-microbiota axis with metabolites including short chain fatty acids impacts brain health, and has been identified to play a role in the gastrointestinal and developmental symptoms affecting autistic children. The fecal microbiome of older children with ASD has repeatedly shown particular shifts to the bacterial and fungal microbial community which are significantly different to aged matched neurotypical controls, but it is still unclear whether these characteristic shifts are detectable prior to diagnosis. Early microbial colonization patterns can have long lasting effects on human health, and preemptive-intervention may be an important mediator to more severe autism. In this study, we characterized both the microbiome and short chain fatty acid concentrations of fecal samples from young children between 21-40 months who were showing early behavioral signs of ASD. Several bacterial taxa changed due to severity of ASD. Stool form was also associated with microbial diversity and SCFA concentration. These differences may impact the microbial signaling across the gut-brain-microbiota axis and the neurological development of the children.