ArticlePloS one2014
Meconium microbiome analysis identifies bacteria correlated with premature birth.
Article in PloS one, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 220 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Association of Gut Microbiome With Neonatal Complications and Neurodevelopment in Preterm Infants
Probiotic Intervention for Microbiome Modifications and Consequential Clinical Improvements in Children With Fragile X Syndrome: Pilot Study
Who cites it
220 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 451 citations in OpenAlex.
- Human Gut Microbiome: A Connecting Organ Between Nutrition, Metabolism, and Health.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Pooled it
- Investigating prenatal and perinatal factors on meconium microbiota: a systematic review and cohort study.Pediatric research · 2024Pooled it
- The Effects of Probiotics, Prebiotics and Synbiotics in Non-Alcoholic Fat Liver Disease (NAFLD) and Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH): A Systematic Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Pooled it
- Antibiotics and the developing intestinal microbiome, metabolome and inflammatory environment in a randomized trial of preterm infants.Scientific reports · 2021Trial
- Fungi form interkingdom microbial communities in the primordial human gut that develop with gestational age.FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology · 2019Trial
- Gut microbiota alterations in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit extremely preterm infants: a Chinese tertiary center study.Translational pediatrics · 2026Article
- Seeding the Future: How Feeding Mode Shapes the Infant Gut Microbiota.Microorganisms · 2026Review
- A Review of Gut Microbiota Dynamics: From Healthy Gestation to Gestational Diabetes in Human and Mouse Models.Biomedicines · 2026Review
- Genetically Modified Microorganisms: Risks and Regulatory Considerations for Human and Environmental Health.Microorganisms · 2026Review
- Progressive microbial alterations in the human gut and lung across early life: implications for translational medicine.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2026Review
- Enteric nervous system in microbiota-associated gut inflammation.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Crosstalk between the microbiome and the mucosal immunoglobulin A system in the lung, in health and disease.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2026Review
- Niche-driven microbial architecture in mothers and newborns with minimal cohort influence across anatomically distinct sites.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Article
- The Impact of Antimicrobial Therapy on the Development of Microbiota in Infants.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- The microbiome's hidden influence: preclinical insights into inflammatory responses in necrotizing enterocolitis.Seminars in immunopathology · 2025Review
- Effects of prenatal bifidobacterium supplementation on the gut microbiome in preterm infants of preeclamptic mothers.Journal of translational medicine · 2025Article
- Treatment strategies for intra-amniotic infection and/or inflammation in preterm labor cases.European journal of obstetrics & gynecology and reproductive biology: X · 2025Article
- Article
- The Role of the Gut Microbiota in Health, Diet, and Disease with a Focus on Obesity.Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Effect of maternal exposure to antibiotics during pregnancy on the neonatal intestinal microbiome and health.Clinical journal of gastroenterology · 2025Review
160 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
11 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundPreterm birth is the second leading cause of death in children under the age of five years worldwide, but the etiology of many cases remains enigmatic. The dogma that the fetus resides in a sterile environment is being challenged by recent findings and the question has arisen whether microbes that colonize the fetus may be related to preterm birth. It has been posited that meconium reflects the in-utero microbial environment. In this study, correlations between fetal intestinal bacteria from meconium and gestational age were examined in order to suggest underlying mechanisms that may contribute to preterm birth.
methodsMeconium from 52 infants ranging in gestational age from 23 to 41 weeks was collected, the DNA extracted, and 16S rRNA analysis performed. Resulting taxa of microbes were correlated to clinical variables and also compared to previous studies of amniotic fluid and other human microbiome niches.
findingsIncreased detection of bacterial 16S rRNA in meconium of infants of <33 weeks gestational age was observed. Approximately 61·1% of reads sequenced were classified to genera that have been reported in amniotic fluid. Gestational age had the largest influence on microbial community structure (R = 0·161; p = 0·029), while mode of delivery (C-section versus vaginal delivery) had an effect as well (R = 0·100; p = 0·044). Enterobacter, Enterococcus, Lactobacillus, Photorhabdus, and Tannerella, were negatively correlated with gestational age and have been reported to incite inflammatory responses, suggesting a causative role in premature birth.
interpretationThis provides the first evidence to support the hypothesis that the fetal intestinal microbiome derived from swallowed amniotic fluid may be involved in the inflammatory response that leads to premature birth.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.