Short term antibiotic effects on gut microbiome in Indian preschoolers: A 16S rRNA analysis

Antibiotic use is associated with dysbiosis of the gut microbiome. The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of antibiotics on gut composition in children aged 3–5 years receiving antibiotics compared to children who did not receive antibiotics. A total of 54 participants aged 3–5 years were included in this multi-centric cohort study. Participants were divided into two equal groups, that is the treatment-experienced group (Group 1, n = 27, antibiotic) and the treatment-not-experienced group (Group 2, n = 27, non-antibiotic). Stool samples of study participants were collected on days 0 and 5 (± 1 day) and analyzed using 16Svedberg ribosomal ribonucleic acid (16S rRNA) gene sequencing. The Kruskal-Wallis H-test and Benjamini-Hochberg FDR correction were applied to determine the differentially abundant pathways across the zones using Statistical Analysis of Metagenomic Profiles (STAMP) (v2.1.3). A non-significant increase in the mean abundance of the Phyla Bacteroidota, Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Verrucomicrobiota was observed in both groups from day 0 to day 5. An alteration in the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio was observed. A significant (P < 0.05) abundance of genus Enterobacteriaceae, Enterococcaceae, and Lactobacillaceae was observed in the participants with antibiotic treatment. The relative abundance of families Enterococcus, Lactobacillus, Sellimonas, Ruminococcus, Torques, and Eggerthella groups was observed to be significantly higher (P < 0.05) in participants with antibiotic treatment. Beta-diversity indices revealed significant differences at group and subgroup levels regarding the bacterial counts. It was observed that a short-term course of 5 days of antibiotic usage is associated with altered microbial abundance and diversity.