ABSTRACT
Despite knowing for more than 30 years that microbes are required to induce necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), we are still grappling to understand how exactly they lead to NEC. This chapter will provide a condensed overview of the efforts done by the research community to address the complex interaction between the microbial community and the preterm intestinal environment. We will start with a brief description of the normal human premature intestinal bacterial communities compared to those born at term, followed by human studies that support the importance of bacterial community alterations in NEC and potential mechanisms of action, ending with the novel concept of fecal microbiota transplants as a possible preventive strategy for NEC.
