{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,11]],"date-time":"2026-09-11T06:07:37Z","timestamp":1789106857120,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":35,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,11]],"date-time":"2026-09-11T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1789084800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Microbiol."],"abstract":"\n Background<\/jats:title>\n The research on the gut microbiota of neonates and preterm neonates by conventional feeding methods is still limited.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Objective<\/jats:title>\n This study aimed to systematically characterize gut microbiota variations across three feeding methods in neonates, with a specific focus on preterm neonates.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Methods<\/jats:title>\n \n This study included 265 neonates from the Hunan Children\u2019s Hospital cohort, categorized by feeding methods into breast-fed (BF,\n n<\/jats:italic>\n \u202f=\u202f122), formula-fed (FF,\n n<\/jats:italic>\n \u202f=\u202f86), and mixed-fed (MF,\n n<\/jats:italic>\n \u202f=\u202f57) groups. Additionally, the analysis was further stratified into preterm and full-term neonates to investigate the relationship between feeding methods and gut microbiota. Gut microbiota composition was assessed using 16S rRNA gene sequencing of neonatal fecal samples. Microbial patterns associated with feeding methods were identified through MaAsLin2 analyses.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Results<\/jats:title>\n \n Unadjusted analyses showed that compared with the FF and MF groups, the BF group exhibited significantly higher relative abundances of\n Bifidobacterium<\/jats:italic>\n (\n p<\/jats:italic>\n \u202f=\u202f0.018) and\n Staphylococcus<\/jats:italic>\n (\n p<\/jats:italic>\n \u202f=\u202f0.039). In addition, the relative abundance of\n Akkermansia<\/jats:italic>\n (\n p<\/jats:italic>\n \u202f=\u202f0.046) in the FF group was higher than that in the other two groups. MaAsLin2 analyses revealed the FF group had higher relative abundances of\n Verrucomicrobiota<\/jats:italic>\n (Coef\u202f=\u202f1.46,\n p<\/jats:italic>\n \u202f=\u202f0.001, FDR\n q<\/jats:italic>\n -value\u202f=\u202f0.055) and\n Akkermansia<\/jats:italic>\n (Coef\u202f=\u202f1.53,\n p<\/jats:italic>\n \u202f=\u202f0.001, FDR\n q<\/jats:italic>\n -value\u202f=\u202f0.040) than those in the BF group among all neonates, particularly preterm neonates. The BF neonates displayed enriched\n Staphylococcus<\/jats:italic>\n (Coef\u202f=\u202f\u22121.47,\n p<\/jats:italic>\n \u202f=\u202f0.009, FDR\n q<\/jats:italic>\n -value\u202f=\u202f0.154) and depleted\n Rothia<\/jats:italic>\n (Coef\u202f=\u202f1.45\n , p\u202f=<\/jats:italic>\n 0.004, FDR\n q<\/jats:italic>\n -value\u202f=\u202f0.121). The MF group showed higher\n Streptococcus<\/jats:italic>\n abundance relative to the BF group (Coef\u202f=\u202f0.95,\n p<\/jats:italic>\n \u202f=\u202f0.019, FDR\n q<\/jats:italic>\n -value\u202f=\u202f0.204). Functional prediction indicated potential group differences in propionate metabolism and degradation of valine, leucine, and isoleucine pathways, particularly in preterm neonates.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n \n Our study demonstrates an association between feeding methods and gut microbiota composition in neonates. The BF neonates exhibited increased relative abundance of\n Staphylococcus<\/jats:italic>\n and decreased relative abundances of\n Akkermansia<\/jats:italic>\n and\n Rothia<\/jats:italic>\n compared with FF neonates. The MF group had higher relative abundance of\n Streptococcus<\/jats:italic>\n than BF group. Furthermore, among preterm neonates, FF group was associated with a higher abundance of\n Akkermansia<\/jats:italic>\n compared with BF group.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fmicb.2026.1921787","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,11]],"date-time":"2026-09-11T05:30:31Z","timestamp":1789104631000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Association of feeding methods in early life with gut microbiota in neonates"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Huimin","family":"Lai","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Maternal and Child Health, Xiangya School of Public Health, Central South University","place":["Changsha, Hunan, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xiongfeng","family":"Pan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Pediatrics Research Institute of Hunan Province, Hunan Children\u2019s Hospital, The Affiliated Children\u2019s Hospital of Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University","place":["Changsha, Hunan, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shiting","family":"Xiang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Pediatrics Research Institute of Hunan Province, Hunan Children\u2019s Hospital, The Affiliated Children\u2019s Hospital of Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University","place":["Changsha, Hunan, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yunlong","family":"Peng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, Medical College of Soochow University","place":["Suzhou, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kunyan","family":"Zhao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The School of Public Health, University of South China","place":["Hengyang, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sha","family":"Wu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China","place":["Hengyang, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xiaoming","family":"Peng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Neonatology, Hunan Children's Hospital","place":["Changsha, Hunan, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yiying","family":"Kuang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Maternal and Child Health, Xiangya School of Public Health, Central South University","place":["Changsha, Hunan, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Cai","family":"Gao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Maternal and Child Health, Xiangya School of Public Health, Central South University","place":["Changsha, Hunan, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jun","family":"Qiu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Maternal and Child Health, Xiangya School of Public Health, Central South University","place":["Changsha, Hunan, China"]},{"name":"Pediatrics Research Institute of Hunan Province, Hunan Children\u2019s Hospital, The Affiliated Children\u2019s Hospital of Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University","place":["Changsha, Hunan, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Songxu","family":"Peng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Maternal and Child Health, Xiangya School of Public Health, Central South University","place":["Changsha, Hunan, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,11]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2190305","DOI":"10.1080\/19490976.2023.2190305","article-title":"Comparing early life nutritional sources and human milk feeding practices: personalized and dynamic nutrition supports infant gut microbiome development and immune system maturation","volume":"15","author":"Ames","year":"2023","journal-title":"Gut Microbes"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"146","DOI":"10.1016\/j.freeradbiomed.2019.02.032","article-title":"Feeding practice influences gut microbiome composition in very low birth weight preterm infants and the association with oxidative stress: a prospective cohort study","volume":"142","author":"Cai","year":"2019","journal-title":"Free Radic. 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