Question

The human gut microbiome is a collection of microbes that are necessary for proper function of the digestive system and that contribute to the overall health of the individual. Infants are colonized with these microbes at birth and their nutrition in the early days of life is important for supporting growth of these microbes. Milk sugars are important in development of the microbiome. Which of the following best explains how both lacto-N-tetraose and lacto-N-fucopentaose could contribute to proper development of an infant's microbiome?

Answer 1

Answer: Gut microbiome degrade the ingested milk sugars through a biochemical pathway, producing ATP required for the energy needs of infant.

Explanation:

The human breast milk fed on by infants  contains a high concentration of indigestible oligosaccharides which include lacto-N-tetraose and lacto-N-fucopentaose.

These milk sugars are utilized by microbes in the gut of infants, yielding lactate as the final product of metabolism and releasing several molecules of ATP as useful energy for use by the infant.

Thus, the presence of these gut microbes at birth, and the feeding of infant with breast milk is vital to fulfilling their energy needs