Shifts in the Maternal Gut Microbiome Across Pregnancy are Associated with Energetic Status in Phayre's Leaf Monkeys
- 1Washington University in St. Louis
Abstract
During pregnancy, mothers experience physiological changes that support fetal development, including shifts in energy utilization and increasing insulin resistance during late gestation. While these changes benefit the fetus, they can also impose energetic costs that affect the mother's physical condition and metabolic phenotype. Previous studies suggest that the gut microbiome, a key regulator of female metabolism and energy harvest, may play a critical role in mediating these physiological challenges. In this study, metagenomic sequencing of the gut microbiome of 120 samples revealed dramatic shifts in gut bacterial composition and function associated with pregnancy and lactation in 14 wild Phayre's leaf monkeys, Trachypithecus phayrei crepusculus, from two groups at the Phu Khieo Wildlife Sanctuary, Thailand. Alpha diversity, beta diversity, and taxonomic composition all differed between cycling and the 3rd trimester. Furthermore, bacterial dissimilarity between these states was negatively correlated with postpartum physical condition; that is, mothers whose gut microbiota remained more stable during pregnancy recovered sooner after giving birth. Functional profiling revealed a depletion of pathways involved in purine salvage and glutamate degradation during the 3rd trimester. Overall, our study demonstrates that the gut microbiome undergoes substantial changes during pregnancy, and the stability of these microbial communities predicts postpartum maternal health and potentially influence lifetime reproductive output.
Related
- Maternal Metabolic Profiles, Their Relationships with Progesterone and Pregnancy-Associated Glycoprotein (PAG), and Biomarker Potential During Early Pregnancy in Lactating Ewes.
- Pregnancy Impacts Maternal Sleep: Focus on Kynurenine Pathway Activation in Female Rats
- Maternal gut microbiota, tryptophan metabolism and immune homeostasis: Implications for the prevention of adverse pregnancy complications
- Neonatal T cell maternal microchimerism is common and associates with early pregnancy SARS2 vaccination
- Disruption of Placental Immune Privilege by Complications of Pregnancy: Consequences for Maternal and Child Health
BibTeX
@misc{nien2026shifts,
title = {{Shifts in the Maternal Gut Microbiome Across Pregnancy are Associated with Energetic Status in Phayre's Leaf Monkeys}},
author = {T.-S. Nien and K. Grathwohl and A. Koenig and C. Borries and A. Lu and E. K. Mallott},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.64898/2026.10.15.759161},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.15.759161v1},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Shifts in the Maternal Gut Microbiome Across Pregnancy are Associated with Energetic Status in Phayre's Leaf Monkeys
AU - T.-S. Nien
AU - K. Grathwohl
AU - A. Koenig
AU - C. Borries
AU - A. Lu
AU - E. K. Mallott
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/15
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.10.15.759161
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.15.759161v1
AB - During pregnancy, mothers experience physiological changes that support fetal development, including shifts in energy utilization and increasing insulin resistance during late gestation. While these changes benefit the fetus, they can also impose energetic costs that affect the mother's physical condition and metabolic phenotype. Previous studies suggest that the gut microbiome, a key regulator of female metabolism and energy harvest, may play a critical role in mediating these physiological challenges. In this study, metagenomic sequencing of the gut microbiome of 120 samples revealed dramatic shifts in gut bacterial composition and function associated with pregnancy and lactation in 14 wild Phayre's leaf monkeys, Trachypithecus phayrei crepusculus, from two groups at the Phu Khieo Wildlife Sanctuary, Thailand. Alpha diversity, beta diversity, and taxonomic composition all differed between cycling and the 3rd trimester. Furthermore, bacterial dissimilarity between these states was negatively correlated with postpartum physical condition; that is, mothers whose gut microbiota remained more stable during pregnancy recovered sooner after giving birth. Functional profiling revealed a depletion of pathways involved in purine salvage and glutamate degradation during the 3rd trimester. Overall, our study demonstrates that the gut microbiome undergoes substantial changes during pregnancy, and the stability of these microbial communities predicts postpartum maternal health and potentially influence lifetime reproductive output.
ER -