Early life microbiota perturbation
This is a very brief summary of an excellent couple of articles from the Blaser lab, which obviously had to be done in mice, but which are consistent with epidemiological data from humans: Perturbation of the gut microbiota during a particular developmental window early in life can have lifelong consequences, even if later the microbiota gets back to normal. The consequences can include increased diabetes risk.
Selected Scientific Literature
Cox et al., 2014: Lasting metabolic consequences of microbiota perturbation during an early developmental period. (abstract only)
Cho et al., 2012: Antibiotics in early life alter the gut microbiota and body mass in mice. (full text)
Cho et al., 2012: Antibiotics in early life alter the gut microbiota and body mass in mice. (full text)