PhD student: Gaël Toubon
Title: Influence of early life factors on the gut microbiota of 3-year-old children and its relationships with corpulence evolution: data from the EPIPAGE 2 and ELFE cohorts
Supervisors: Marie-Aline Charles and Julio Aires
Doctoral school: ED 393 Epidemiology and Biomedical Information Sciences, Université Paris Cité
Promotion: 2020
Funding: Allocation doctorale – PhD fellowship
Thesis abstract:
The gut microbiota plays an important role in host health and development. Evidence from the literature shows that early life determinants can influence the development of the gut microbiota and, consequently, the health of the host in the short and long term. For this thesis, we leveraged data from two French national birth cohorts: EPIPAGE 2 (premature infants) and ELFE (general population). Using stool samples collected as part of the follow-up of these cohorts, gut microbiota was characterized using a metagenomic approach targeting the bacterial 16S rDNA. This thesis work provides a better understanding of the preterm newborn gut microbiota evolution during infancy and highlights the importance of early factors in the development of the gut microbiota, as well as its relationships with the development of corpulence in early childhood.
