Grant: Project Grant

Child stunting is a major health problem in low- and middle-income countries such as Bangladesh, where it has long-lasting health and socio-economic consequences. The bacterial communities normally present in the gut, the gut microbiota, of stunted children are different from those of healthy children. However, no specific bacterial pathogen has been identified as causing stunting, and current dietary and medical interventions only temporarily promote growth. Our previous work has shown that the viruses in the gut naturally infecting bacteria, called bacteriophages (or phages), are also distinct between healthy and stunted children and can promote the growth of bacteria observed in stunting. This project will explore the role of gut microbial communities in infant growth patterns of malnourished infants, before manipulating bacterial and phage communities in animal models of stunting. Our data would provide information as to which phages could promote healthy growth, whether phages can synergize with, and sustain, existing dietary approaches whose effects are transient, and provide valuable information on how phage-bacteria interaction shape early life growth.