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MICROBIOME

Breastfeeding promotes bifidobacterial immunomodulatory metabolites

A Publisher Correction to this article was published on 24 November 2021

This article has been updated

Breastmilk contains human milk oligosaccharides that promote the growth of Bifidobacterium species in the infant gut. These beneficial bacteria can produce aromatic lactic acids that may impact immune function in early life.

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Fig. 1: Breastfeeding promotes Bifidobacterium species and immunomodulatory aromatic lactic acids in the infant gut.

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Acknowledgements

C.J.S acknowledges funding from a Sir Henry Dale Fellowship, jointly funded by the Wellcome Trust and the Royal Society (grant no. 221745/Z/20/Z), and the 2021 Lister Institute Prize Fellow Award.

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Correspondence to Christopher J. Stewart.

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C.J.S consults for Astarte Medical and receives lecture honoraria from Danone Early Life Nutrition and Nestle Nutrition Institute, but has no share options.

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Stewart, C.J. Breastfeeding promotes bifidobacterial immunomodulatory metabolites. Nat Microbiol 6, 1335–1336 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-021-00975-z

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