Associate Professor Mikael Niku from the University of Helsinki wants to determine the kinds of mechanisms the maternal microbes use to modulate the development of the immune system of the offspring.
His research group carries out data analyses using the equipment of the CSC – IT Center for Science, the Finnish ELIXIR node.
The microbes process the substances our bodies absorb, turning them into metabolites.
“In the past, our group – like many other research groups – focused on investigating whether maternal bacteria are transferred from the mother to the foetus. After all, almost no living bacteria is present in a healthy foetus. However, we now know that microbes produce small-molecule metabolites that are then transferred to the foetus.”
Niku is interested in finding out what sort of metabolites are transferred to foetuses and how these metabolites affect the foetal development.
“The metabolites are absorbed from the gut into the bloodstream, from where they’re transferred to placenta and to the foetus. We found that the concentrations of some metabolites are associated to the functioning of genes in the foetus. These genes are often linked to the immune system and its development.”
The research involves analysing microbiomes using amplicon sequencing, targeting the 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene region. This makes it possible to study the microbiota composition. The 16S gene regions are sequenced and identified through publicly accessible databases.
According to Niku, before long, it can be determined what kind of bacteria and bacterial products the foetus needs to develop an optimal immune system.
“For example, it could allow us to develop probiotic products that contain necessary microbes or microbial products that are currently unavailable.”
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ELIXIR is partly funded by the European Commission