Mother’s milk for Bacteria

Breast milk symbolizes the eternal bonding between a mother and her child. Many moms get emotional of the memory of breast-feeding her child. Scientifically too, it is considered the most important food in the life of an individual. Colostrum, the, early milk, contains many essential nutrients and immunoglobulin that not only nourish the young ones but also boost their immune system. However, recent studies show that the breast milk is not (only) intended to feed the babies, but also to some friendly bacteria resides in baby’s stomach!

Human milk contains some complex carbohydrates called oligosaccharides. No one really knew the actual function of these molecules in milk. A group of scientists recently identified close to 200 oligosaccharides in human milk and examined what kind of bacterial would grow in them. Since its is a very rich nutrient source the hypothesis was that tons of bacteria in the human gut would grow in the presence of these oligosaccharides.  But to their surprise only one type of bacteria was able to grew in this media: Bifidobacterium longum biovar infantis (B.longum). Genetic analysis revealed that only this bacterium contains genes for all the enzymes necessary to digest oligosaccharides in the milk. It is believed that this bacterium consumes oligosaccharide much faster than its malicious counterparts their by effectively out number them. In addition it also produces biomolecules that support the growth of other beneficial bacteria.

Interestingly studies done recently shows that B. longum containing probiotic infant diets once given premature babies would significantly reduce the occurrence some fatal infection that are harmful to these babies. Studies like this are just tip of the iceberg. The symbiotic relationship between animals and the microbes that resides inside and outside of their body will be a fascinating area of research that is poised to grow exponentially in the near future. Advent of low cost genome sequencing has made it into an accessible and exciting possibility.

Based on Gura.T, Science (2014)