ABSTRACT
Microbiota colonizes the gut soon after birth. Although its initial composition rapidly varies, influenced by numerous factors such as mother’s microbiota, mode of delivery, breast feeding, environmental exposure, early antibiotic administration…. (Penders, Thijs et al. 2006; Palmer, Bik et al. 2007), it becomes relatively stable after the age of two and onward to the adult age (Marchesi 2011; Yatsunenko et al. 2012). The understanding of gut microbiota’s composition and role was initially limited by the inability to cultivate most microorganisms colonizing the digestive tract. The fi eld has taken another dimension with the availability of new culture-independent tools, such as the 16SrRNA gene sequencing
1 Institut de Cardiometabolisme et Nutrition, ICAN, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière, Département cœur et métabolisme, Paris, F-75013 France.
