Thus, during development it may be important to optimize your gut microbiome via possibly avoiding antibiotics, modifying diet, etc. This also means that there is the possibility of modification of the microbiome via transfer, etc. Although there doesn’t seem to be any clear degree of optimization as of yet.
The microbiome: A heritable contributor to bone morphology?
“Bone provides structure to the vertebrate body that allows for movement and mechanical stimuli that enable and the proper development of neighboring organs. Bone morphology and density is also highly heritable. In humans, heritability of bone mineral density has been estimated to be 50–80%. However, genome wide association studies have so far explained only 25% of the variation in bone mineral density, suggesting that a substantial portion of the heritability of bone mineral density may be due to environmental factors. Here we explore the idea that the gut microbiome is a heritable environmental factor that contributes to bone morphology and density. The vertebrae skeleton has evolved over the past ~500 million years in the presence of commensal microbial communities. The composition of the commensal microbial communities has co-evolved with the hosts resulting in species-specific microbial populations associated with vertebrate phylogeny. Furthermore, a substantial portion of the gut microbiome is acquired through familial transfer{so what the mother eats during pregenancy may affect a childs height}. Recent studies suggest that the gut microbiome also influences postnatal development. Here we review studies from the past decade in mice that have shown that the presence of the gut microbiome can influence postnatal bone growth regulating bone morphology and density. These studies indicate that the presence of the gut microbiome may increase longitudinal bone growth and appositional bone growth, resulting differences cortical bone morphology in long bones. More surprising, however are recent studies showing that transfer of the gut microbiota among inbred mouse strains with distinct bone phenotypes can alter postnatal development and adult bone morphology. Together these studies support the concept that the gut microbiome is a contributor to skeletal phenotype.”
“The majority of the mammalian microbiome is present in the gastrointestinal system. The mammalian gut microbiome consists of hundreds of distinct microbial species (bacteria, archea, viruses, single celled eukaryotes) interacting with one another and with host cells at the gut endothelial barrier. The body is first colonized by microbes soon after birth. Over the first few years of life the composition of the gut microbial community fluctuates considerably until achieving a relatively stable composition”
“The gut microbiome is also heritable: maternal transfer of the microbiome soon after birth is among the most influential contributors to the establishment of the gut microbiome; and later in life components of the gut microbiota are transferable through close contact such as that occurring within households and due to familial dietary habits. The composition of a mature gut microbiota can fluctuate on an hourly or daily basis due to variations in diet. However, the overall composition of an established gut microbiota are robust to perturbations; the vast majority of the microbial composition returns to its prior state following a mild or temporary perturbation. Hence, the composition of the gut microbiota is partially heritable and, once established, does not change substantially without a large or prolonged stimulus. That the gut microbiota is established at an early age suggests that heritable components of the gut microbiota may contribute to the patterns of bone mass accrual that determine adult bone morphology and density.”
“most bacteria associated with vertebrates reside in the gastrointestinal tract, where densities can reach ~1011 cells per milliliter, yet relatively few of the constituents of this gut microbiota are known to cause disease in their hosts.”
“the composition of the gut microbiota can be influenced by environmental variation, including host diet, geography, and temperature ”
“transplantation of gut microbiota from Gairdner’s shrewmouse (Mus pahari) into germ-free house mice stunts host growth rate relative to transplantation of house-mouse gut microbiota”
“The ability of the gut microbiome to influence bone morphology has been recognized since the first animal studies of oral antibiotics in the 1920–30s which reported alterations in whole body growth as well as bone length and morphology following chronic oral antibiotic dosing”
According to Identifying Components of the Gut Microbiome that Regulate Bone Tissue Mechanical Properties, disruption in the gut microbione results in a femur length reduction.
“the absence or depletion of the gut microbiota, while potentially influencing the acquisition of trabecular bone at the growth plate, likely has little effect on the amounts of trabecular bone present at skeletal maturity.”
“Schwarzer and colleagues found that young (two month-old) germ-free mice were much smaller than conventionally raised mice in terms of whole body mass, whole body length, whole bone length and femoral cortical area”
“Yan and colleagues found that adult (10 month old) germ-free mice had smaller endosteal and periosteal diameter at the femur midshaft and shorter whole bone length in adulthood than mice that had been conventionalized at two months of age, in part leading to their conclusion that exposure to the gut microbiota leads to a net increase in bone acquisition during life. Guss and colleagues and Luna and colleagues found that disruption (but not decimation) of the gut microbiota in mice using narrow spectrum antibiotics from 1 to 4 months of age was associated with small but significant reductions in femur length “
