Characterization of the fecal microbiota differs between age groups in Koreans

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Tens of trillions of microorganisms constitute the gut microbiota of the human body. The microbiota plays a critical role in maintaining host immunity and metabolism. Analyses of the gut microbial composition in Korea are limited to a few studies consisting of small sample sizes. To investigate the gut microbial community in a large sample of healthy Koreans, we analyzed the 16S ribosomal RNA of 4 representative bacterial genera Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, Bacteroides, and Clostridium. METHODS: A total of 378 DNA samples extracted from 164 infants and 214 adults were analyzed using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: Analysis of 16S ribosomal RNA of 4 representative bacterial genera Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, Bacteroides, and Clostridium showed that the gut microbiota in infants had higher relative abundances of Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus than that in adults, which was dominated by Bacteroides and Clostridium. CONCLUSIONS: To the best of our knowledge, this was the first study evaluating the distinct characteristics of the microbial community of Korean infants and adults. The differences between the 2 populations suggest that external factors such as age, diet, and the environment are important contributing factors to the change in gut microbial composition during development.