Microbiome–Epigenome Interactions in Early-Life Molecular Programming
A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Genetics and Genomics".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2026 | Viewed by 1386
Editors
Interests: microbiota; pregnancy; breast milk; early life; nutrition; host-microbe interaction
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Early life represents a sensitive developmental window during which environmental cues exert durable molecular effects on human health. Among these cues, the microbiome and the epigenome form a tightly interconnected regulatory axis that shapes gene expression programs essential for immune maturation, metabolic regulation, neurodevelopment, and barrier function. Microbial metabolites and structural components act as molecular signals capable of inducing stable epigenetic modifications, including DNA methylation, histone remodeling, and non-coding RNA–mediated regulation, while host epigenetic landscapes reciprocally influence microbial colonization and functional ecosystem assembly.
This Special Issue focuses on the molecular and mechanistic foundations of microbiome–epigenome interactions driving early-life programming from fetal development through infancy. Core thematic areas include microbiome-driven epigenetic regulation; DNA methylation and histone modifications induced by microbial signaling; non-coding RNAs at the host–microbiome interface; placental microbiome–epigenome communication; epigenetic control of immune and intestinal barrier development; metabolic and neurodevelopmental programming; and integrative multi-omics and systems biology approaches. Both adaptive developmental processes and maladaptive programming associated with adverse intrauterine or early postnatal environments are within scope.
By integrating molecular biology, epigenomics, and microbiome science, this Special Issue aims to elucidate how early environmental signals become biologically embedded at the molecular level, with particular emphasis on molecular biomarkers and translational targets relevant for early preventive strategies.
Dr. Maria Carmen Collado
Guest Editor
Dr. Miljana Zivojin Jovandaric
Guest Editor Assistant
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Keywords
- early-life programming
- microbiome–epigenome axis
- DNA methylation
- histone modification
- microbial metabolites
- non-coding RNAs
- immune maturation
- placental and postnatal development
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