The Father’s Microbiome: A Hidden Contributor to Fetal and Long-Term Child Health
by
, and
Enrica Zambella
1,*
,
Annalisa Inversetti
1,2,
Silvia Salerno
1,
Martin Müller
3,4 and
Nicoletta Di Simone
1,2 
1
Department of Biomedical Sciences, Humanitas University, 20090 Pieve Emanuele, Italy
2
IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital, 20089 Milan, Italy
3
Department for Gynecology and Obstetrics, Lindenhofspital AG, 3001 Bern, Switzerland
4
Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Biology 2025, 14(8), 1002; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology14081002
Submission received: 12 June 2025
/
Revised: 26 July 2025
/
Accepted: 29 July 2025
/
Published: 5 August 2025
(This article belongs to the Section Microbiology)
Simple Summary
The father’s health at the time of conception can influence the long-term well-being of his offspring by modulating the development of the infant gut microbiome. While the maternal microbial contribution is most prominent around birth, the paternal input seems to be stable and increasingly evident as the child grows. Emerging evidence suggests that exposure to environmental toxins, dietary habits, and hormonal balance may influence both sperm quality and the composition of the gut and seminal microbiomes. Recent studies have shown that disruptions in these microbiomes can modify the testicular environment, including metabolite profiles and hormonal levels, and affect chromatin states, small RNAs, and macromolecules within sperm, ultimately influencing fertility and offspring development. Despite these promising findings, most of the current evidence derives from animal models, and there is a significant lack of human studies. A deeper understanding of how the paternal microbiota contributes to fetal and childhood health could pave the way for new preventive strategies, such as preconception dietary or probiotic interventions.
Excerpt
Note: In lieu of an abstract, this is an excerpt from the first page.
The microbiota refers to the entire community of microorganisms, including bacteria, viruses, fungi, archaea, and protozoa, that inhabit various anatomical sites and exert complex influences on human health and disease [...]
