{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,30]],"date-time":"2026-01-30T04:51:20Z","timestamp":1769748680692,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":27,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,29]],"date-time":"2026-01-29T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1769644800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Major Project of Guangzhou National Laboratory","award":["GZNL2024A01025"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["GZNL2024A01025"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Pathogens"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Choledochal cyst (CC), a congenital biliary anomaly, is associated with recurrent infections, chronic inflammation, and an increased risk of malignancy. Although emerging evidence implicates the biliary microbiome in disease pathophysiology, its developmental dynamics in pediatric CC remain unclear. Using deep metagenomic sequencing and comprehensive functional annotation, this study characterized age-dependent changes in the biliary microbiome of 201 pediatric CC patients stratified into infancy (&lt;1 year), early childhood (1\u20135 years), and later childhood (5\u201312 years). We found that while the taxonomic composition and alpha diversity of the microbiota remained conserved across age groups, profound functional remodeling occurred with host development. A core set of microbial species(Bacteroidota, Actinomycetota, Bacillota, and Pseudomonadota) and functional pathways was shared across all ages; however, early childhood (1\u20135 years) exhibited the greatest number of unique functional genes, metabolic pathways, and carbohydrate-active enzymes, identifying this period as a critical window for microbial metabolic adaptation. Age-specific patterns were also evident in clinically relevant traits: infants (&lt;1 year) harbored the most unique antibiotic resistance and virulence factor genes, whereas the resistome and virulome became more streamlined in older children. These findings establish a paradigm of \u201ctaxonomic conservation coupled with functional remodeling\u201d in the CC microbiome and highlight age as a key determinant of microbial community function. This study offers novel insights into the microbial dynamics underlying CC progression and suggests potential age-specific targets for future therapeutic strategies.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/pathogens15020147","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,29]],"date-time":"2026-01-29T14:52:36Z","timestamp":1769698356000},"page":"147","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Age-Dependent Dynamics of the Biliary Microbiome in Children with Choledochal Cysts: Functional Remodeling Underlying Taxonomic Conservation"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"given":"Xueqi","family":"Wang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Capital Institute of Pediatrics, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100020, China"},{"name":"General Surgery Department, Capital Center for Children\u2019s Health, Capital Institute of Pediatrics, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100020, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ran","family":"Duan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"National Institute for Infectious Disease Control and Prevention, China CDC, Beijing 102206, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Anxiao","family":"Ming","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Capital Institute of Pediatrics, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100020, China"},{"name":"General Surgery Department, Capital Center for Children\u2019s Health, Capital Institute of Pediatrics, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100020, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Yifan","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Capital Institute of Pediatrics, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100020, China"},{"name":"General Surgery Department, Capital Center for Children\u2019s Health, Capital Institute of Pediatrics, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100020, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8222-4451","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tiezhu","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"National Key Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Diseases, Beijing 102206, China"},{"name":"National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, China CDC, Beijing 102206, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Xin","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"National Institute for Infectious Disease Control and Prevention, China CDC, Beijing 102206, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Mei","family":"Diao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Capital Institute of Pediatrics, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100020, China"},{"name":"General Surgery Department, Capital Center for Children\u2019s Health, Capital Institute of Pediatrics, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100020, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,29]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"e91079","article-title":"Double Common Bile Duct Associated With Choledochal Cyst: A Rare Developmental Anomaly","volume":"17","author":"Khan","year":"2025","journal-title":"Cureus"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"226","DOI":"10.1308\/rcsann.2022.0131","article-title":"A new variant of gallbladder duplication mimicking a choledochal cyst: Stepwise management of an unexpected surgical finding","volume":"107","author":"Kim","year":"2025","journal-title":"Ann. 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