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Peer-reviewedCC BYEMBO Reports

Maternal microbiome promotes offspring ovarian reserve via bile acid metabolism

  • Han Wang1
  • Yukang Li1
  • Yilin Niu1
  • Xin Chen2
  • Jing Liu3
  • Weiting Feng1
  • Jingru Cao1
  • Haixia Liu1
  • Chang Liu2
  • Xiaoying Liang2
  • Ziqing Ge1
  • Junjie Wang1
4 more authors
  • Xinlei Feng4
  • Shunfeng Cheng1
  • Wei Shen1
  • Wei Ge1
4 affiliations
  1. 1College of Animal Science and Technology, Qingdao Agricultural University
  2. 2College of Life Sciences, Qingdao Agricultural University
  3. 3Central Laboratory of Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao Agricultural University
  4. 4Shandong Animal Products Quality and Safety Center
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Abstract

The maternal microbiome plays a crucial role in host ovarian function and fertility, yet its influence on in-utero ovarian development in offspring remains poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate that maternal antibiotic-induced microbiome disruption in mice leads to diminished ovarian reserve (DOR) in the offspring, while fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) alleviates this effect. Metabolomic analysis reveals that maternal microbiome disruption alters metabolomic profiles in the maternal serum, with pathway enrichment analysis indicating reduced bile acid secretion in the maternal serum of ABX dams. Importantly, supplementation of key bile acid metabolites and transplantation of Lactobacillus gasseri (L. gasseri), a known promoter of bile acid metabolism, to antibiotic-treated dams abrogated maternal microbiome disruption-induced DOR. Additionally, through in vitro fertilization assay, we found that maternal microbiome disruption impaired oocyte quality in offspring, while FMT and supplementation with bile acid metabolites alleviated this effect. Together, our findings highlight the critical role of the maternal microbiome in offspring fertility, potentially through microbially mediated bile acid metabolism in the maternal serum.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{wang2026maternal,
  title = {{Maternal microbiome promotes offspring ovarian reserve via bile acid metabolism}},
  author = {Han Wang and Yukang Li and Yilin Niu and Xin Chen and Jing Liu and Weiting Feng and Jingru Cao and Haixia Liu and Chang Liu and Xiaoying Liang and Ziqing Ge and Junjie Wang and Xinlei Feng and Shunfeng Cheng and Wei Shen and Wei Ge},
  journal = {EMBO Reports},
  year = {2026},
  month = aug,
  doi = {10.1038/s44319-026-00912-3},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s44319-026-00912-3},
  note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Maternal microbiome promotes offspring ovarian reserve via bile acid metabolism
AU  - Han Wang
AU  - Yukang Li
AU  - Yilin Niu
AU  - Xin Chen
AU  - Jing Liu
AU  - Weiting Feng
AU  - Jingru Cao
AU  - Haixia Liu
AU  - Chang Liu
AU  - Xiaoying Liang
AU  - Ziqing Ge
AU  - Junjie Wang
AU  - Xinlei Feng
AU  - Shunfeng Cheng
AU  - Wei Shen
AU  - Wei Ge
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/01
JO  - EMBO Reports
DO  - 10.1038/s44319-026-00912-3
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1038/s44319-026-00912-3
AB  - The maternal microbiome plays a crucial role in host ovarian function and fertility, yet its influence on in-utero ovarian development in offspring remains poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate that maternal antibiotic-induced microbiome disruption in mice leads to diminished ovarian reserve (DOR) in the offspring, while fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) alleviates this effect. Metabolomic analysis reveals that maternal microbiome disruption alters metabolomic profiles in the maternal serum, with pathway enrichment analysis indicating reduced bile acid secretion in the maternal serum of ABX dams. Importantly, supplementation of key bile acid metabolites and transplantation of Lactobacillus gasseri (L. gasseri), a known promoter of bile acid metabolism, to antibiotic-treated dams abrogated maternal microbiome disruption-induced DOR. Additionally, through in vitro fertilization assay, we found that maternal microbiome disruption impaired oocyte quality in offspring, while FMT and supplementation with bile acid metabolites alleviated this effect. Together, our findings highlight the critical role of the maternal microbiome in offspring fertility, potentially through microbially mediated bile acid metabolism in the maternal serum.
SN  - 1469-3178
ER  -