ArticleNature communications2024
Maternal transmission as a microbial symbiont sieve, and the absence of lactation in male mammals.
Article in Nature communications, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- Microbes first into the life rafts: preserving microbiomes to secure health in degrading ecosystems.Sustainable microbiology · 2026Article
- Integrative genomic and functional characterization of a feline milk-derivedFrontiers in microbiology · 2026Article
- Probiotic Characteristics and Whole Genome Analysis of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum PM8 from Giant Panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) Milk.Probiotics and antimicrobial proteins · 2025Article
- Maternal transmission as a microbial symbiont sieve, and the absence of lactation in male mammals.Nature communications · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Gut microbiomes of mammals carry a complex symbiotic assemblage of microorganisms. Feeding newborn infants milk from the mammary gland allows vertical transmission of the parental milk microbiome to the offspring's gut microbiome. This has benefits, but also has hazards for the host population. Using mathematical models, we demonstrate that biparental vertical transmission enables deleterious microbial elements to invade host populations. In contrast, uniparental vertical transmission acts as a sieve, preventing these invasions. Moreover, we show that deleterious symbionts generate selection on host modifier genes that keep uniparental transmission in place. Since microbial transmission occurs during birth in placental mammals, subsequent transmission of the milk microbiome needs to be maternal to avoid the spread of deleterious elements. This paper therefore argues that viviparity and the hazards from biparental transmission of the milk microbiome, together generate selection against male lactation in placental mammals.
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Registered trials
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