The Gut Microbiome in Early Life and Beyond: Implications for Health and Disease
A special issue of Biomedicines (ISSN 2227-9059). This special issue belongs to the section "Microbiology in Human Health and Disease".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 1117
Special Issue Editors
2. System Microbiology and Antimicrobial Resistance (SMART) Lab, Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, China
3. Microbiota I-Center (MagIC), Hong Kong 999077, China
Interests: early-life gut microbiome; metagenomics; virome; host-microbe interactions; bioinformatics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The gut microbiome plays a pivotal role in human health, influencing physiological, metabolic, and immunological processes over an individual’s lifetime. Emerging evidence has highlighted the critical importance of the gut microbiome during early life, particularly in the context of the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) framework. Early-life microbial colonization and maturation are shaped by factors such as birth mode, diet, antibiotic exposure, and environmental influences, which can have long-lasting effects on health outcomes. Dysbiosis during this critical developmental window has been linked to an increased risk of chronic diseases, including metabolic disorders, neurodevelopmental conditions, and immune-mediated diseases later in life.
This Special Issue will explore the intricate relationship between the gut microbiome, early-life development, and long-term health outcomes in animals and humans. We welcome the submission of original research articles, reviews, clinical studies, and case reports that investigate the role of the gut microbiome in the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) paradigm, focusing on mechanisms, interventions, and translational applications, as well as opinion or perspective papers that discuss relevant ethical considerations in the field. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Early-life gut microbiome establishment: Factors influencing microbial colonization and maturation in infancy and childhood.
- DOHaD and the gut microbiome: How early-life microbial dysbiosis contributes to the developmental origins of chronic diseases.
- Microbiome–host interactions: Mechanisms by which the gut microbiome influences immune, metabolic, and neurological development.
- Interventional strategies: Probiotics, prebiotics, and other microbiome-targeted therapies to mitigate disease risk.
- Longitudinal studies: Tracking gut microbiome changes from early life to adulthood and their association with health outcomes.
- Translational research: Bridging the gap between microbiome science and clinical applications to improve health across the human lifespan.
This Special Issue will provide a platform for advancing our understanding of the gut microbiome's role in early-life programming and its implications for lifelong health and disease. By integrating insights from DOHaD and microbiome research, we aim to identify novel strategies for disease prevention and intervention, ultimately promoting healthier futures for individuals and populations.
Dr. Ye Peng
Dr. Shilan Wang
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Biomedicines is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- gut microbiome
- early-life development
- DOHaD
- microbial dysbiosis
- chronic disease
- probiotics
- prebiotics
- microbiome–host interactions
- developmental programming
- translational research
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