ABSTRACT

This chapter aims to summarize the results that have been obtained through the use of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and emerging research to identify next-generation probiotics from commensal gut bacteria. It focuses on the evidence how the gut microbiota in general and specific LAB bacterial strains in particular influence the host juvenile growth and development. The gut microbiota development after birth is a key factor in establishing the host–microbiota interaction, and it is emerging as an important modulator of early metabolic programming. Gut microbiota emerged as a newly recognized vertebrate organ system that is contributing to the development and maturation of all aspects of host biological processes. The immunization reversed gut microbiota dysbiosis and adoptive transfer of immune cells from immunized mice and improved metabolic features in response to high-fat diet. The effect of gut bacteria on growth development is not restricted to specific categories of species of living host, encompassing both invertebrates and vertebrates.