short autobiography article

18 Essay-Length Short Memoirs to Read Online on Your Lunch Break

Emily Polson

Emily Polson is a freelance writer and publishing assistant at Simon & Schuster. Originally from central Iowa, she studied English and creative writing at Belhaven University in Jackson, Mississippi, before moving to a small Basque village to teach English to trilingual teenagers. Now living in Brooklyn, she can often be found meandering through Prospect Park listening to a good audiobook. Twitter: @emilycpolson | https://emilycpolson.wordpress.com/

View All posts by Emily Polson

I love memoirs and essays, so the genre of essay-length short memoirs is one of my favorites. I love delving into the details of other people’s lives. The length allows me to read broadly on a whim with minimal commitment. In roughly 5–30 minutes, I can consume a complete morsel of literature, which always leaves me happier than the same amount of time spent doom-scrolling through my various social news feeds.

What are short memoirs?

What exactly are short memoirs? I define them as essay-length works that weave together life experiences around a central theme. You see examples of short memoirs all the time on sites like Buzzfeed and The New York Times . Others are stand-alone pieces published in essay collections.

Memoir essays were my gateway into reading full-length memoirs. It was not until I took a college class on creative nonfiction that I realized memoirs were not just autobiographies of people with exciting lives. Anyone with any amount of life experience can write a memoir—no dramatic childhood or odd-defying life accomplishments required. A short memoir might be an account of a single, life-changing event, or it may be reflection on a period of growth or transition.

Of course, when a young adult tells people she likes writing creative nonfiction—not journalism or technical writing—she hears a lot of, “You’re too young to write a memoir!” and “What could someone your age possibly have to write about?!” As Flannery O’Connor put it, however, “The fact is that anybody who has survived his childhood has enough information about life to last him the rest of his days. If you can’t make something out of a little experience, you probably won’t be able to make it out of a lot. The writer’s business is to contemplate experience, not to be merged in it.”

Memoir essay examples

As the lit magazine Creative Nonfiction puts it, personal essays are just “True stories, well told.” And everyone has life stories worth telling.

Here are a few of my favorite memoir examples that are essay length.

SHORT MEMOIRS ABOUT GROWING UP

Scaachi koul, “there’s no recipe for growing up”.

In this delightful essay, Koul talks about trying to learn the secrets of her mother’s Kashmiri cooking after growing up a first-generation American. The story is full of vivid descriptions and anecdotal details that capture something so specific it transcends to the realm of universal. It’s smart, it’s funny, and it’ll break your heart a little as Koul describes “trying to find my mom at the bottom of a 20-quart pot.”

ASHLEY C. FORD, “THE YEAR I GREW WILDLY WHILE MEN LOOKED ON”

This memoir essay is for all the girls who went through puberty early in a world that sexualizes children’s bodies. Ford weaves together her experiences of feeling at odds with her body, of being seen as a “distraction” to adult men, of being Black and fatherless and hungry for love. She writes, “It was evident that who I was inside, who I wanted to be, didn’t match the intentions of my body. Outside, there was no little girl to be loved innocently. My body was a barrier.”

Kaveh Akbar, “How I Found Poetry in Childhood Prayer”

Akbar writes intense, searing poetry, but this personal essay contextualizes one of his sweetest poems, “Learning to Pray,” which is cradled in the middle of it. He describes how he fell in love with the movement, the language, and the ceremony of his Muslim family’s nightly prayers. Even though he didn’t (and doesn’t) speak Arabic, Akbar points to the musicality of these phonetically-learned hymns as “the bedrock upon which I’ve built my understanding of poetry as a craft and as a meditative practice.” Reading this essay made me want to reread his debut poetry collection, Calling a Wolf a Wolf , all over again.

JIA TOLENTINO, “LOSING RELIGION AND FINDING ECSTASY IN HOUSTON”

New Yorker staff writer Jia Tolentino grew up attending a Houston megachurch she referred to as “the Repentagon.” In this personal essay, she describes vivid childhood memories of her time there, discussing how some of the very things she learned from the church contributed to her growing ambivalence toward it and its often hypocritical congregants. “Christianity formed my deepest instincts,” she writes, “and I have been walking away from it for half my life.” As the essay title suggests, this walking away coincided with her early experiences taking MDMA, which offered an uncanny similarity to her experience of religious devotion.

funny short memoirs

Patricia lockwood, “insane after coronavirus”.

Author Patricia Lockwood caught COVID-19 in early March 2020. In addition to her physical symptoms, she chronicled the bizarre delusions she experienced while society also collectively operated under the delusion that this whole thing would blow over quickly. Lockwood has a preternatural ability to inject humor into any situation, even the dire ones, by highlighting choice absurdities. This is a rare piece of pandemic writing that will make you laugh instead of cry–unless it makes you cry from laughing.

Harrison Scott Key, “My Dad Tried to Kill Me with an Alligator”

This personal essay is a tongue-in-cheek story about the author’s run-in with an alligator on the Pearl River in Mississippi. Looking back on the event as an adult, Key considers his father’s tendencies in light of his own, now that he himself is a dad. He explores this relationship further in his book-length memoir, The World’s Largest Man , but this humorous essay stands on its own. (I also had the pleasure of hearing him read this aloud during my school’s homecoming weekend, as Key is an alumnus of my alma mater.)

David Sedaris, “Me Talk Pretty One Day”

Sedaris’s humor is in a league of its own, and he’s at his best in the title essay from Me Talk Pretty One Day . In it, he manages to capture the linguistic hilarities that ensue when you combine a sarcastic, middle-aged French student with a snarky French teacher.

SAMANTHA IRBY, “THE WORST FRIEND DATE I EVER HAD”

Samantha Irby is one of my favorite humorists writing today, and this short memoir essay about the difficulty of making friends as an adult is a great introduction to her. Be prepared for secondhand cringe when you reach the infamous moment she asks a waiter, “Are you familiar with my work?” After reading this essay, you’ll want to be, so check out Wow, No Thank You . next.

Bill Bryson, “Coming Home”

Bryson has the sly, subtle humor that only comes from Americans who have spent considerable time living among dry-humored Brits. In “Coming Home,” he talks about the strange sensation of returning to America after spending his first twenty years of adulthood in England. This personal essay is the first in a book-length work called I’m a Stranger Here Myself , in which Bryson revisits American things that feel like novelties to outsiders and the odd former expat like himself.

Thought-provoking Short memoirs

Tommy orange, “how native american is native american enough”.

Many people claim some percentage of Indigenous ancestry, but how much is enough to “count”? Novelist Tommy Orange–author of There There –deconstructs this concept, discussing his relationship to his Native father, his Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood, and his son, who will not be considered “Native enough” to join him as an enrolled member of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes. “ How come math isn’t taught with stakes?” he asks in this short memoir full of lingering questions that will challenge the way you think about heritage.

Christine Hyung-Oak Lee, “I Had a Stroke at 33”

Lee’s story is interesting not just because she had a stroke at such a young age, but because of how she recounts an experience that was characterized by forgetting. She says that after her stroke, “For a month, every moment of the day was like the moment upon wakening before you figure out where you are, what time it is.” With this personal essay, she draws readers into that fragmented headspace, then weaves something coherent and beautiful from it.

Kyoko Mori, “A Difficult Balance: Am I a Writer or a Teacher?”

In this refreshing essay, Mori discusses balancing “the double calling” of being a writer and a teacher. She admits that teaching felt antithetical to her sense of self when she started out in a classroom of apathetic college freshmen. When she found her way into teaching an MFA program, however, she discovered that fostering a sanctuary for others’ words and ideas felt closer to a “calling.” While in some ways this makes the balance of shifting personas easier, she says it creates a different kind of dread: “Teaching, if it becomes more than a job, might swallow me whole and leave nothing for my life as a writer.” This memoir essay is honest, well-structured, and layered with plenty of anecdotal details to draw in the reader.

Alex Tizon, “My Family’s Slave”

In this heartbreaking essay, Tizon pays tribute to the memory of Lola, the domestic slave who raised him and his siblings. His family brought her with them when they emigrated to America from the Philippines. He talks about the circumstances that led to Lola’s enslavement, the injustice she endured throughout her life, and his own horror at realizing the truth about her role in his family as he grew up. While the story is sad enough to make you cry, there are small moments of hope and redemption. Alex discusses what he tried to do for Lola as an adult and how, upon her death, he traveled to her family’s village to return her ashes.

Classic short memoirs

James baldwin, “notes of a native son”.

This memoir essay comes from Baldwin’s collection of the same name. In it, he focuses on his relationship with his father, who died when Baldwin was 19. He also wrestles with growing up black in a time of segregation, touching on the historical treatment of black soldiers and the Harlem Riot of 1943. His vivid descriptions and honest narration draw you into his transition between frustration, hatred, confusion, despair, and resilience.

JOAN DIDION, “GOODBYE TO ALL THAT”

Didion is one of the foremost literary memoirists of the twentieth century, combining journalistic precision with self-aware introspection. In “Goodbye to All That,” Didion recounts moving to New York as a naïve 20-year-old and leaving as a disillusioned 28-year-old. She captures the mystical awe with which outsiders view the Big Apple, reflecting on her youthful perspective that life was still limitless, “that something extraordinary would happen any minute, any day, any month.” This essay concludes her masterful collection, Slouching Towards Bethlehem .

Tim O’Brien, “The Things They Carried”

This is the title essay from O’Brien’s collection, The Things They Carried . It’s technically labeled a work of fiction, but because the themes and anecdotes are pulled from O’Brien’s own experience in the Vietnam War, it blurs the lines between fact and fiction enough to be included here. (I’m admittedly predisposed to this classification because a college writing professor of mine included it on our creative nonfiction syllabus.) The essay paints an intimate portrait of a group of soldiers by listing the things they each carry with them, both physical and metaphorical. It contains one of my favorite lines in all of literature: “They all carried ghosts.”

Multi-Media Short Memoirs

Allie brosh, “richard”.

In this blog post/webcomic, Allie Brosh tells the hilarious story about the time as a child that she, 1) realized neighbors exist, and 2) repeatedly snuck into her neighbor’s house, took his things, and ultimately kidnapped his cat. Her signature comic style drives home the humor in a way that will split your sides. The essay is an excerpt from Brosh’s second book, Solutions and Other Problems , but the web version includes bonus photos and backstory. For even more Allie classics, check out “Adventures in Depression” and “Depression Part Two.”

George Watsky, “Ask Me What I’m Doing Tonight”

Watsky is a rapper and spoken word poet who built his following on YouTube. Before he made it big, however, he spent five years performing for groups of college students across the Midwest. “Ask Me What I’m Doing Tonight!” traces that soul-crushing monotony while telling a compelling story about trying to connect with people despite such transience. It’s the most interesting essay about boredom you’ll ever read, or in this case watch—he filmed a short film version of the essay for his YouTube channel. Like his music, Watsky’s personal essays are vulnerable, honest, and crude, and the whole collection, How to Ruin Everything , is worth reading.

If you’re looking for even more short memoirs, keep an eye on these pages from Literary Hub , Buzzfeed , and Creative Nonfiction . You can also delve into these 25 nonfiction essays you can read online and these 100 must-read essay collections . Also be sure to check out the “Our Reading Lives” tag right here on Book Riot, where you’ll find short memoirs like “Searching for Little Free Libraries as a Way to Say Goodbye” and “How I Overcame My Fear of Reading Contemporary Poets.”

Horror Comics That'll Give You the Chills

Find anything you save across the site in your account

A Short Autobiography

By F. Scott Fitzgerald

(W ITH A CKNOWLEDGEMENTS TO N ATHAN )

A photograph of F. Scott Fitzgerald smoking

The four defiant Canadian Club whiskeys at the Susquehanna in Hackensack.

The Great Western Champagne at the Trent House in Trenton and the groggy ride back to Princeton.

The Sparkling Burgundy at Bustanoby’s. The raw whiskey in White Sulphur Springs, Montana, when I got up on a table and sang, “Won’t you come up,” to the cowmen. The Stingers at Tate’s in Seattle listening to Ed Muldoon, “that clever chap.”

The apple brandy nipped at in the locker-room at the White Bear Yacht Club.

A first Burgundy with Monsignor X at the Lafayette. Blackberry brandy and whiskey with Tom at the old Nassau Inn.

The Bourbon smuggled to officers’ rooms by bellboys at the Seelbach in Louisville.

The Sazzarac Cocktails brought up from New Orleans to Montgomery to celebrate an important occasion.

Red wine at Mollat’s. Absinthe cocktails in a hermetically sealed apartment in the Royalton. Corn liquor by moonlight in a deserted aviation field in Alabama.

Leaving our champagne in the Savoy Grill on the Fourth of July when a drunk brought up two obviously Piccadilly ladies. Yellow Chartreuse in the Via Balbini in Rome.

Kaly’s crème de cacao cocktails in St. Paul. My own first and last manufacture of gin.

Oceans of Canadian ale with R. Lardner in Great Neck, Long Island.

Champagne cocktails on the Minnewaska, and apologizing to the old lady we kept awake. Graves Kressman at Villa Marie in Valescure and consequent arguments about British politics with the nursery governess. Porto Blancs at a time of sadness. Mousseux bought by a Frenchman in a garden at twilight. Chambéry Fraise with the Seldes on their honeymoon. The local product ordered on the wise advice of a friendly priest at Orvieto, when we were asking for French wines.

A dry white wine that “won’t travel,” made a little south of Sorrento, that I’ve never been able to trace. Plot coagulating—a sound of hoofs and bugles. The gorgeous Vin d’Arbois at La Reine Pédauque. Champagne cocktails in the Ritz sweatshop in Paris. Poor wines from Nicolas. Kirsch in a Burgundy inn against the rain with E. Hemingway.

Uninteresting St. Estèphe in a desolate hole called Salies-de-Béarn. Sherry on the beach at La Garoupe. Gerald M.’s grenadine cocktail, the one flaw to make everything perfect in the world’s most perfect house. Beer and weenies with Grace, Charlie, Ruth, and Ben at Antibes before the deluge.

Delicious California “Burgundy-type” wine in one of the Ambassador bungalows in Los Angeles. The beer I made in Delaware that had a dark inescapable sediment. Cases of dim, cut, unsatisfactory whiskey in Delaware.

The Pouilly with Bouillabaisse at Prunier’s in a time of discouragement.

A feeling that all liquor has been drunk and all it can do for one has been experienced, and yet—“ Garçon, un Chablis Mouton 1902, et pour commencer, une petite carafe de vin rose. C’est ça—merci. ” ♦

Books & Fiction

By signing up, you agree to our User Agreement and Privacy Policy & Cookie Statement . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

By Roz Chast

By Bruce Headlam

The Avant-Garde Is Back on the Launchpad

By Helen Shaw

By Louisa Thomas

What Is an Autobiography?

What to Consider Before You Start to Write

Writing Research Papers
Writing Essays
English Grammar
M.Ed., Education Administration, University of Georgia
B.A., History, Armstrong State University

Your life story, or autobiography , should contain the basic framework that any essay should have, with four basic elements. Begin with an introduction that includes a thesis statement , followed by a body containing at least several paragraphs , if not several chapters. To complete the autobiography, you'll need a strong conclusion , all the while crafting an interesting narrative with a theme.

Did You Know?

The word autobiography literally means SELF (auto), LIFE (bio), WRITING (graph). Or, in other words, an autobiography is the story of someone's life written or otherwise told by that person.

When writing your autobiography, find out what makes your family or your experience unique and build a narrative around that. Doing some research and taking detailed notes can help you discover the essence of what your narrative should be and craft a story that others will want to read.

Research Your Background

Just like the biography of a famous person, your autobiography should include things like the time and place of your birth, an overview of your personality, your likes and dislikes, and the special events that shaped your life. Your first step is to gather background detail. Some things to consider:

What is interesting about the region where you were born?
How does your family history relate to the history of that region?
Did your family come to that region for a reason?

It might be tempting to start your story with "I was born in Dayton, Ohio...," but that is not really where your story begins. It's better to start with an experience. You may wish to start with something like why you were born where you were and how your family's experience led to your birth. If your narrative centers more around a pivotal moment in your life, give the reader a glimpse into that moment. Think about how your favorite movie or novel begins, and look for inspiration from other stories when thinking about how to start your own.

Think About Your Childhood

You may not have had the most interesting childhood in the world, but everyone has had a few memorable experiences. Highlight the best parts when you can. If you live in a big city, for instance, you should realize that many people who grew up in the country have never ridden a subway, walked to school, ridden in a taxi, or walked to a store a few blocks away.

On the other hand, if you grew up in the country you should consider that many people who grew up in the suburbs or inner city have never eaten food straight from a garden, camped in their backyards, fed chickens on a working farm, watched their parents canning food, or been to a county fair or a small-town festival.

Something about your childhood will always seem unique to others. You just have to step outside your life for a moment and address the readers as if they knew nothing about your region and culture. Pick moments that will best illustrate the goal of your narrative, and symbolism within your life.

Consider Your Culture

Your culture is your overall way of life , including the customs that come from your family's values and beliefs. Culture includes the holidays you observe, the customs you practice, the foods you eat, the clothes you wear, the games you play, the special phrases you use, the language you speak, and the rituals you practice.

As you write your autobiography, think about the ways that your family celebrated or observed certain days, events, and months, and tell your audience about special moments. Consider these questions:

What was the most special gift you ever received? What was the event or occasion surrounding that gift?
Is there a certain food that you identify with a certain day of the year?
Is there an outfit that you wear only during a special event?

Think honestly about your experiences, too. Don't just focus on the best parts of your memories; think about the details within those times. While Christmas morning may be a magical memory, you might also consider the scene around you. Include details like your mother making breakfast, your father spilling his coffee, someone upset over relatives coming into town, and other small details like that. Understanding the full experience of positives and negatives helps you paint a better picture for the reader and lead to a stronger and more interesting narrative. Learn to tie together all the interesting elements of your life story and craft them into an engaging essay.

Establish the Theme

Once you have taken a look at your own life from an outsider’s point of view, you will be able to select the most interesting elements from your notes to establish a theme. What was the most interesting thing you came up with in your research? Was it the history of your family and your region? Here is an example of how you can turn that into a theme:

"Today, the plains and low hills of southeastern Ohio make the perfect setting for large cracker box-shaped farmhouses surrounded by miles of corn rows. Many of the farming families in this region descended from the Irish settlers who came rolling in on covered wagons in the 1830s to find work building canals and railways. My ancestors were among those settlers."

A little bit of research can make your own personal story come to life as a part of history, and historical details can help a reader better understand your unique situation. In the body of your narrative, you can explain how your family’s favorite meals, holiday celebrations, and work habits relate to Ohio history.

One Day as a Theme

You also can take an ordinary day in your life and turn it into a theme. Think about the routines you followed as a child and as an adult. Even a mundane activity like household chores can be a source of inspiration.

For example, if you grew up on a farm, you know the difference between the smell of hay and wheat, and certainly that of pig manure and cow manure—because you had to shovel one or all of these at some point. City people probably don’t even know there is a difference. Describing the subtle differences of each and comparing the scents to other scents can help the reader imagine the situation more clearly.

If you grew up in the city, you how the personality of the city changes from day to night because you probably had to walk to most places. You know the electricity-charged atmosphere of the daylight hours when the streets bustle with people and the mystery of the night when the shops are closed and the streets are quiet.

Think about the smells and sounds you experienced as you went through an ordinary day and explain how that day relates to your life experience in your county or your city:

"Most people don’t think of spiders when they bite into a tomato, but I do. Growing up in southern Ohio, I spent many summer afternoons picking baskets of tomatoes that would be canned or frozen and preserved for cold winter’s dinners. I loved the results of my labors, but I’ll never forget the sight of the enormous, black and white, scary-looking spiders that lived in the plants and created zigzag designs on their webs. In fact, those spiders, with their artistic web creations, inspired my interest in bugs and shaped my career in science."

One Event as a Theme

Perhaps one event or one day of your life made such a big impact that it could be used as a theme. The end or beginning of the life of another can affect our thoughts and actions for a long time:

"I was 12 years old when my mother passed away. By the time I was 15, I had become an expert in dodging bill collectors, recycling hand-me-down jeans, and stretching a single meal’s worth of ground beef into two family dinners. Although I was a child when I lost my mother, I was never able to mourn or to let myself become too absorbed in thoughts of personal loss. The fortitude I developed at a young age was the driving force that would see me through many other challenges."

Writing the Essay

Whether you determine that your life story is best summed up by a single event, a single characteristic, or a single day, you can use that one element as a theme . You will define this theme in your introductory paragraph .

Create an outline with several events or activities that relate back to your central theme and turn those into subtopics (body paragraphs) of your story. Finally, tie up all your experiences in a summary that restates and explains the overriding theme of your life.

How to Write a Personal Narrative
How to Write a Narrative Essay or Speech
Tips for Writing a "What I Did on Vacation" Essay
The Power of Literacy Narratives
Compose a Narrative Essay or Personal Statement
7 Tips for Writing Personality Profiles That People Will Want to Read
Common Application Essay, Option 1: Share Your Story
FAQs About Writing Your Graduate Admissions Essay
Engaging Writing Prompts for 3rd Graders
Writing Prompts for 5th Grade
Memorable Graduation Speech Themes
What Are the Parts of a Short Story? (How to Write Them)
The Law School Applicant’s Guide to the Diversity Statement
How to Write Your Family History
4th Grade Writing Prompts
How to Give an Impromptu Speech

The Classroom | Empowering Students in Their College Journey

Autobiography Definition, Examples, and Writing Guide

3. important events, 4. how are you unique, 5. current situation.

Short autobiographies are used to convey basic facts about a person’s life. While longer autobiographies offer the opportunity to delve into more detail and anecdotal evidence, a concise autobiography can be written in five paragraphs or even less. While a professional may be able to easily define paragraphs because of education, achievements and professional experience, students and so-called Average Joes can write an equally evocative autobiography by analyzing their life for relevant information and organizing content into a simple, organized format.

Determine a purpose for the autobiography. Purposes might be professional, academic or otherwise. The purpose will define the theme of your autobiography.

Write the first paragraph about how you came into this world. Assemble the basic information about where you were born, when and to whom. Find out where you first lived, how your parents earned a living and more information about your first year of life.

Write the second and third paragraphs about critical events in your life that helped shape who you are now. Look specifically for incidences that relate to you overcoming obstacles, taking risks or shaping your life.

Write the fourth paragraph about education, credentials or skills that set you apart from your peers. Discuss how you identified and developed these traits, and how this has benefited you personally and professionally.

Conclude the autobiography with a fifth paragraph about your current situation. Discuss where you live and with whom. Include information about children, pets, hobbies, interests and your professional status. If relevant, discuss your goals and what you are currently striving to accomplish in life.

Review the completed autobiography to verify that the information keeps with the purpose and theme.

Be sure to include information that is relevant to the purpose of the autobiography.

Identify a storyline throughout the autobiography and use transitions between sentences and paragraphs to improve content flow.

How to Write a Personal Statement for College

How to Write a Short Essay Describing Your Background

How to Create a Life Map

How to Write an Essay About Your Future Goals

What Should a Narrative Essay Format Look Like?

How to Write a Report about a Famous Person

How to Write an Autobiography for a College Assignment

How to Write a Speech About Someone I Admire

Be sure to include information that is relevant to the purpose of the autobiography. Identify a storyline throughout the autobiography and use transitions between sentences and paragraphs to improve content flow.

Nicole Thelin has more than a decade of professional writing experience. She has contributed to newspapers such as the "Daily Herald" of Provo, Utah, and now writes for several online publications. Thelin is pursuing a bachelor's degree in education from Western Governors University.

We will keep fighting for all libraries - stand with us!

Internet Archive Audio

This Just In
Grateful Dead
Old Time Radio
78 RPMs and Cylinder Recordings
Audio Books & Poetry
Computers, Technology and Science
Music, Arts & Culture
News & Public Affairs
Spirituality & Religion
Radio News Archive

Flickr Commons
Occupy Wall Street Flickr
NASA Images
Solar System Collection
Ames Research Center

All Software
Old School Emulation
MS-DOS Games
Historical Software
Classic PC Games
Software Library
Kodi Archive and Support File
Vintage Software
CD-ROM Software
CD-ROM Software Library
Software Sites
Tucows Software Library
Shareware CD-ROMs
Software Capsules Compilation
CD-ROM Images
ZX Spectrum
DOOM Level CD

Smithsonian Libraries
FEDLINK (US)
Lincoln Collection
American Libraries
Canadian Libraries
Universal Library
Project Gutenberg
Children's Library
Biodiversity Heritage Library
Books by Language
Additional Collections

Prelinger Archives
Democracy Now!
Occupy Wall Street
TV NSA Clip Library
Animation & Cartoons
Arts & Music
Computers & Technology
Cultural & Academic Films
Ephemeral Films
Sports Videos
Videogame Videos
Youth Media

Search the history of over 866 billion web pages on the Internet.

Mobile Apps

Wayback Machine (iOS)
Wayback Machine (Android)

Browser Extensions

Archive-it subscription.

Explore the Collections
Build Collections

Save Page Now

Capture a web page as it appears now for use as a trusted citation in the future.

Please enter a valid web address

Donate Donate icon An illustration of a heart shape

A short autobiography

Bookreader item preview, share or embed this item, flag this item for.

Graphic Violence
Explicit Sexual Content
Hate Speech
Misinformation/Disinformation
Marketing/Phishing/Advertising
Misleading/Inaccurate/Missing Metadata

obscured text

plus-circle Add Review comment Reviews

2 Favorites

Better World Books

DOWNLOAD OPTIONS

No suitable files to display here.

IN COLLECTIONS

Uploaded by station08.cebu on January 11, 2020

Autobiography: A Very Short Introduction

Author webpage

Cite Icon Cite
Permissions Icon Permissions

Throughout history, individuals have recorded their own lives and experiences. These personal writings provide an understanding of the ways in which lives have been lived, and the most fundamental accounts of what it means to be a self in the world. Autobiography: A Very Short Introduction defines what is meant by ‘autobiography’, and considers its relationship with similar literary forms such as memoirs, journals, letters, and diaries. Analysing the core themes in autobiographical writing, including confession, conversion, testimony, romanticism, and the journeying self, this VSI discusses the autobiographical consciousness (and the roles played by time, memory, and identity), and considers the relationship between psychoanalysis and autobiography. It also explores the themes of self-portraiture, photography, and performance.

Signed in as

Institutional accounts.

Google Scholar Indexing
GoogleCrawler [DO NOT DELETE]

Personal account

Sign in with email/username & password
Get email alerts
Save searches
Purchase content
Activate your purchase/trial code

Institutional access

Sign in with a library card Sign in with username/password Recommend to your librarian
Institutional account management
Get help with access

Access to content on Oxford Academic is often provided through institutional subscriptions and purchases. If you are a member of an institution with an active account, you may be able to access content in one of the following ways:

IP based access

Typically, access is provided across an institutional network to a range of IP addresses. This authentication occurs automatically, and it is not possible to sign out of an IP authenticated account.

Sign in through your institution

Choose this option to get remote access when outside your institution. Shibboleth/Open Athens technology is used to provide single sign-on between your institutionâ€™s website and Oxford Academic.

Click Sign in through your institution.
Select your institution from the list provided, which will take you to your institution's website to sign in.
When on the institution site, please use the credentials provided by your institution. Do not use an Oxford Academic personal account.
Following successful sign in, you will be returned to Oxford Academic.

If your institution is not listed or you cannot sign in to your institutionâ€™s website, please contact your librarian or administrator.

Sign in with a library card

Enter your library card number to sign in. If you cannot sign in, please contact your librarian.

Society Members

Society member access to a journal is achieved in one of the following ways:

Sign in through society site

Many societies offer single sign-on between the society website and Oxford Academic. If you see â€˜Sign in through society siteâ€™ in the sign in pane within a journal:

Click Sign in through society site.
When on the society site, please use the credentials provided by that society. Do not use an Oxford Academic personal account.

If you do not have a society account or have forgotten your username or password, please contact your society.

Sign in using a personal account

Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members. See below.

A personal account can be used to get email alerts, save searches, purchase content, and activate subscriptions.

Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members.

Viewing your signed in accounts

Click the account icon in the top right to:

View your signed in personal account and access account management features.
View the institutional accounts that are providing access.

Signed in but can't access content

Oxford Academic is home to a wide variety of products. The institutional subscription may not cover the content that you are trying to access. If you believe you should have access to that content, please contact your librarian.

For librarians and administrators, your personal account also provides access to institutional account management. Here you will find options to view and activate subscriptions, manage institutional settings and access options, access usage statistics, and more.

Our books are available by subscription or purchase to libraries and institutions.

External resource

In the OUP print catalogue
About Oxford Academic
Publish journals with us
University press partners
What we publish
New features
Open access
Rights and permissions
Accessibility
Advertising
Media enquiries
Oxford University Press
Oxford Languages
University of Oxford

Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University's objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide

Copyright © 2024 Oxford University Press
Cookie settings
Cookie policy
Privacy policy
Legal notice

This Feature Is Available To Subscribers Only

This PDF is available to Subscribers Only

For full access to this pdf, sign in to an existing account, or purchase an annual subscription.

Maya Angelou

Poet, dancer, singer, activist, and scholar Maya Angelou was a world-famous author. She was best known for her unique and pioneering autobiographical writing style.

On April 4, 1928, Marguerite Ann Johnson, known to the world as Maya Angelou, was born in St. Louis, Missouri. Due to her parents’ tumultuous marriage and subsequent divorce, Angelou went to live with her paternal grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas at an early age. Her older brother, Bailey, gave Angelou her nickname “Maya.”

Returning to her mother’s care briefly at the age of seven, Angelou was raped by her mother’s boyfriend. He was later jailed and then killed when released from jail. Believing that her confession of the trauma had a hand in the man’s death, Angelou became mute for six years. During her mutism and into her teens, she again lived with her grandmother in Arkansas.

Angelou’s interest in the written word and the English language was evident from an early age. Throughout her childhood, she wrote essays, poetry, and kept a journal. When she returned to Arkansas, she took an interest in poetry and memorized works by Shakespeare and Poe.

Prior to the start of World War II, Angelou moved back in with her mother, who at this time was living in Oakland, California. She attended George Washington High School and took dance and drama courses at the California Labor School.

When war broke out, Angelou applied to join the Women’s Army Corps. However, her application was rejected because of her involvement in the California Labor School, which was said to have Communist ties. Determined to gain employment, despite being only 15 years old, she decided to apply for the position of a streetcar conductor. Many men had left their jobs to join the services, enabling women to fill them. However, Angelou was barred from applying at first because of her race. But she was undeterred. Every day for three weeks, she requested a job application, but was denied. Finally, the company relented and handed her an application. Because she was under the legal working age, she wrote that she was 19. She was accepted for the position and became the first African American woman to work as a streetcar conductor in San Francisco. Angelou was employed for a semester but then decided to return to school. She graduated from Mission High School in the summer of 1944 and soon after gave birth to her only child, Clyde Bailey (Guy) Johnson.

After graduation, Angelou undertook a series of odd jobs to support herself and her son. In 1949, she married Tosh Angelos, an electrician in the US Navy. She adopted a form of his surname and kept it throughout her life, though the marriage ended in divorce in 1952.

Angelou was also noted for her talents as a singer and dancer, particularly in the calypso and cabaret styles. In the 1950s, she performed professionally in the US, Europe, and northern Africa, and sold albums of her recordings.

In 1950, African American writers in New York City formed the Harlem Writers Guild to nurture and support the publication of Black authors. Angelou joined the Guild in 1959. She also became active in the Civil Rights Movement and served as the northern coordinator of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, a prominent African American advocacy organization

In 1969, Angelou published I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings , an autobiography of her early life. Her tale of personal strength amid childhood trauma and racism resonated with readers and was nominated for the National Book Award. Many schools sought to ban the book for its frank depiction of sexual abuse, but it is credited with helping other abuse survivors tell their stories. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings has been translated into numerous languages and has sold over a million copies worldwide. Angelou eventually published six more autobiographies, culminating in 2013’s Mom & Me & Mom.

She wrote numerous poetry volumes, such as the Pulitzer Prize-nominated Just Give me a Drink of Water 'fore I Diiie (1971), as well as several essay collections. She also recorded spoken albums of her poetry, including “On the Pulse of the Morning,” for which she won a Grammy for Best Spoken Word Album. The poem was originally written for and delivered at President Bill Clinton’s inauguration in 1993. She also won a Grammy in 1995, and again in 2002, for her spoken albums of poetry.

Angelou carried out a wide variety of activities on stage and screen as a writer, actor, director, and producer. In 1972, she became the first African American woman to have her screen play turned into a film with the production of Georgia, Georgia . Angelou earned a Tony nomination in 1973 for her supporting role in Jerome Kitty’s play Look Away , and portrayed Kunta Kinte’s grandmother in the television miniseries Roots in 1977.

She was recognized by many organizations both nationally and internationally for her contributions to literature. In 1981, Wake Forest University offered Angelou the Reynolds Professorship of American Studies. President Clinton awarded Angelou the National Medal of Arts in 2000. In 2012, she was a member of the inaugural class inducted into the Wake Forest University Writers Hall of Fame. The following year, she received the National Book Foundation’s Literarian Award for outstanding service to the American literary community. Angelou also gave many commencement speeches and was awarded more than 30 honorary degrees in her lifetime.

Angelou died on May 28, 2014. Several memorials were held in her honor, including ones at Wake Forest University and Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco. To honor her legacy, the US Postal Service issued a stamp with her likeness on it in 2015. (The US Postal Service mistakenly included a quote on the stamp that has long been associated with Angelou but was actually first written by Joan Walsh Anglund .)

In 2010, President Barack Obama awarded Angelou the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the country’s highest civilian honor. It was a fitting recognition for Angelou’s remarkable and inspiring career in the arts.

Angelou, Maya. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. (New York: Random House, 1969). Angelou, Maya. Maya Angelou: A Glorious Celebration. (New York: Doubleday, 2008).

“Poet – Maya Angelou.” Academy of American Poets. Accessed August 8, 2017. https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poet/maya-angelou

Brown, Emma. “Maya Angelou, Writer and Poet, dies at age 86.” The Washington Post, May 28, 2014. Accessed August 8, 2017. https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/maya-angelou-writer-and-poet-dies-at-age-86/2014/05/28/2948ef5e-c5da-11df-94e1-c5afa35a9e59_story.html?utm_term=.408fffb9a82c

Brown , DeNeen L. “Maya Angelou honored for her first job as a street car conductor in San Francisco.” The Washington Post, March 12, 2014. Accessed August 8, 2017. https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/local/wp/2014/03/12/maya-angelou-honored-for-her-first-job-as-a-street-car-conductor-in-san-francisco/?tid=a_inl&utm_term=.92c836957f2f

“About Harlem Writers Guild.” Harlem Writers Guild. Accessed August 10, 2017. http://theharlemwritersguild.org/about.html

Moore, Lucinda. “Growing Up Maya Angelou.” Smithsonian.com, April 2013. Accessed August 8, 2017. http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/growing-up-maya-angelou-79582387/

Nixon, Ron. “Postal Service Won’t Reissue Maya Angelou Stamp.” The New York Times, April 8, 2017. Accessed August 8, 2017. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/09/us/postal-service-wont-reissue-maya-angelou-stamp.html

“History.” Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Accessed August 10, 2017. http://nationalsclc.org/about-us/history/

Thursby, Jacqueline S. "Angelou, Maya (4 Apr. 1928–28 May 2014), writer, performer, and activist." American National Biography. 29 Nov. 2018; Accessed 7 Dec. 2021. https://doi.org/10.1093/anb/9780198606697.013.00700

“Dr. Maya Angelou.” National Book Foundation. Accessed December 7, 2021. https://www.nationalbook.org/people/dr-maya-angelou/#fullBio

MLA - Spring, Kelly. “Maya Angelou." National Women's History Museum. National Women's History Museum, 2017. Date accessed.

Chicago - Spring, Kelly. "Maya Angelou." National Women's History Museum. 2017. www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/maya-angelou.

Photo Credit: MAYA ANGELOU, circa 1976. Courtesy: CSU Archives / Everett Collection.

Angelou, Maya. Just Give me a Drink of Water ‘fore I Diiie . (New York: Bantam, 1976).

Angelou, Maya. Mom & Me & Mom . (London: Virago, 2013).

“THE INAUGURATION; Maya Angelou: 'On the Pulse of Morning’.” The New York Times, January 21 1993. http://www.nytimes.com/1993/01/21/us/the-inauguration-maya-angelou-on-the-pulse-of-morning.html Classroom Posters:

Maya Angelou Classroom Poster (11x17 in) | Maya Angelou Classroom Poster (24x36 in)

Related Biographies

Stacey Abrams

Abigail Smith Adams

Jane Addams

Toshiko Akiyoshi

Related background, “when we sing, we announce our existence”: bernice johnson reagon and the american spiritual', mary church terrell , belva lockwood and the precedents she set for women’s rights, faith ringgold and her fabulous quilts.

How to Write a Short Autobiography

If you write anything, then the skill of knowing how to write a short autobiography is something that you’ll need. Just because we shorten this need to a “bio” doesn’t mean there is less importance to it. Blogs, books, and even company websites all include bios of the people who are behind the work that is produced. Get this short bit of information correct and you’ll be able to prove that you have some level of expertise that readers or visitors need.

Here are the steps you’ll want to take in constructing your short autobiography. Although these steps are intended to be taken in sequential order, there are no set rules for the structure of a bio. Write what comes naturally to you and conveys the key points you need to make.

#1. Start with a simple introduction for your short autobiography.

You’ll want to speak about yourself in the third person, but it doesn’t have to be lengthy. Just a sentence or two is enough. “Joe Smith is a freelance graphic artist who started creating professional designs in 1997. He counts several Fortune 500 companies as his clients.” If you have any specific areas of expertise, this is where you’d want to put them.

Not every bio is for a publication that is based in the business world, however, so the introduction may be more personal. You might talk about your family: “Joe is a husband, father of 4, and loves playing rugby on the weekends with his local pub team.” It’s just important to keep personal bios on personal sites or publications and separate from business publications in most instances.

#2. Now add in your education and whatever credentials you have.

If you have any college/university degrees, then list these and the institution where you earned them. Certifications and other relevant experience, such as being a member of a specific professional organization, would also be included in this step. Listing a high school diploma or GED is usually not included here – you’re looking to add something to the bio that sets you apart.

That’s right – a high school diploma or GED doesn’t set you apart these days. Not everyone finishes school, this is true. Yet graduation or passing the GED is common enough that there is an expectation of it happening.

If you don’t have a diploma or GED, then it is suitable to substitute your previous work experiences in this section instead. Just because you learned through real-life practices doesn’t mean you didn’t receive an education in your own way.

#3. Have you had any notable achievements or awards?

Not everyone earns awards in their line of work, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t something notable about what they do. Maybe you’ve been a writer since the age of 13 when a local newspaper asked you to write a column for them. Or maybe you had a children’s book published in high school. Or your graphic designs have been published in notable magazines or publishing houses.

There is one general rule to follow, however, on these achievements and awards: they must be relevant to the subject matter at hand. If you’re writing about quantum mechanics, listing in your bio that you were nominated for the Best Newspaper Carrier Award for your state won’t add value to the expertise you’re trying to convey.

#4. Include a closing statement in your short autobiography.

A good rule of thumb for a closing statement is to include a brief look at what you’re current projects happen to be. If you were an author, you might talk about a book that is being published later in the year. You might conclude with a brief note about where you currently live and why you like living there. If you have a personal blog, you might talk about the things your family likes to do in your community. “Joe and his family love Tampa Bay and the multiple opportunities that exist to play miniature golf.”

The goal of structuring a short autobiography like this is to make it as easy to update as possible. If you earn a master’s degree after your bachelor’s degree, for example, you could easily add the graduate degree to your bio in the education section. If you change careers, you can add in the new experience while touting your previous expertise: “Joe had 20 years of graphic design experience before deciding to become a freelance artist in 2015.”

Good bios can be just a paragraph long. Others might need a page or two. Whatever the case may be for you, focus on these key points and put in the relevant information needed so you can give people a glimpse of who you really are.

If you’ve found these tips on picking an autobiography title useful, check out these further resources:

How to come up with autobiography titles what is the best autobiography layout memoir vs autobiography 9 great autobiography writing tips how to publish an autobiography.

This 47-page mini-ebook gives you everything you need to start writing your own autobiography, including:

–Developing an overall theme

–Outlining your autobiography

–Choosing a winning title

–Best autobiography layouts

–Autobiography marketing strategy and more!

Your guide is on its way! Check your inbox.

previous post: 9 Dialogue Writing Tips
next post: 7 Writing Exercises for Beginners
About Melissa and Networlding
About the Team
Done-For-You (DFY)
Do-It-Yourself (DIY)
Author Showcase

How to Write a Short Bio: Templates, Examples

By Status.net Editorial Team on June 16, 2023 — 12 minutes to read

How to Write a Short Bio Part 1
What to Include in a Short Professional Bio Part 2
Example of a Formal Short Bio Part 3
Example of a Casual Short Bio Part 4
Examples of Well-Written Short Bios Part 5
Short Bio: Best Templates Part 6
Tips for Writing a Short Bio Part 7
Optimizing Your Bio for Different Platforms Part 8

A short bio is a concise and informative summary of your professional background, accomplishments, and personal interests. It’s an opportunity for you to introduce yourself to others, whether it’s for networking, job applications, or social media profiles. By writing a short bio, you allow others to quickly understand your expertise, strengths, and personality.

As you write your short bio, consider your audience and tailor the content accordingly. You might want to have different versions of your bio for varying contexts, such as a professional conference, a job application, or a social media platform. Regardless of the situation, strive to be authentic and maintain a tone that reflects your personality while also adhering to professional standards.

Part 1 How to Write a Short Bio

When writing a short bio, first focus on being concise and relevant. A short bio should be approximately 4-6 sentences or about 150 words. Be sure to highlight your achievements, experience, and expertise with confidence and clarity.

To start, introduce yourself briefly, including your name, title, and current role or profession. Next, mention your most significant accomplishments in your field thus far. This can include awards, certifications, publications, or any other relevant milestones. Discuss your current work and projects, providing the reader with a snapshot of your professional life. Make sure to emphasize your unique strengths and specialties. Then, touch upon your education or any other credentials that showcase your expertise.

Here’s an example to follow:

“Jeremiah Smith, an award-winning graphic designer, specializes in creating visually stunning websites and marketing materials for a diverse clientele. With over 10 years of experience, Jeremiah has led branding projects for major corporations and small businesses alike, receiving accolades for his innovative design solutions. Currently, he serves as the Creative Director at X Design Studio, where he is dedicated to helping clients grow their digital presence. Jeremiah holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design from the prestigious Art Institute of Chicago.”

For a stronger impact, customize your short bio by tailoring it to the specific platform, audience, or purpose. By prioritizing information and emphasizing the most relevant points, you can create a brief, engaging bio that showcases your unique skills and accomplishments.

Part 2 What to Include in a Short Professional Bio

Your job title and current role : Start by mentioning your current role and the industry you’re working in. This helps to establish your expertise and gives readers an immediate understanding of your professional focus.
Career accomplishments and milestones : Highlight a few significant achievements in your career thus far. These can be successful projects, promotions, or awards you’ve received. Be specific about what you’ve accomplished and how it demonstrates your expertise.
Skills and qualifications : Briefly mention the key skills and qualifications you possess that make you an expert in your field. This can include technical abilities, soft skills, certifications, or degrees.
Interests and personal touch : Add a few personal details that showcase your interests and passions outside of work. This can humanize your professional persona and help you connect with readers on a more personal level. However, be careful not to share too much personal information.
LinkedIn and networking opportunities : Include a link to your LinkedIn profile or other professional social media accounts. This provides readers with an opportunity to connect with you and discover more about your background.

To present this information effectively, write your short professional bio in the third person and maintain a confident, knowledgeable, and clear tone of voice. Keep the content concise and easy to understand by breaking it into paragraphs and using formatting elements such as bullet points and bold text when necessary.

Here is one more example of a well-crafted short professional bio:

“John Smith is a seasoned marketing manager with over 10 years of experience in the tech industry. He currently leads product marketing efforts at X Company, where he has successfully launched new products and significantly increased market share.

John holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and is certified in digital marketing. His expertise includes strategic planning, content creation, and driving brand awareness through innovative campaigns.

In his free time, John enjoys hiking, photography, and volunteering at the local animal shelter. Connect with him on LinkedIn to learn more about his professional experience and accomplishments.”

Taking Into Account Personal and Professional Aspects

Try to strike a balance between your personal and professional aspects:

Make sure to mention any relevant professional accomplishments and skills that showcase your expertise in your field. If you are a student or a working professional, add details about your university, current position, or professional experiences that give readers an insight into your capabilities.
Don’t forget to add a touch of personality to your bio. Including personal details, interests, and hobbies will make you more relatable and create a connection with your audience. However, try to keep these personal elements brief and relevant to your overall bio. For example, if you are writing a bio for a personal website or Twitter, you could mention that you are an avid painter or a dedicated volunteer at a local animal shelter.

When writing in the second person, use short paragraphs to make your bio easy to read and understand. For instance:

Full name: Briefly mention your full name at the beginning of your bio.
Professional skills: List your core skills and accomplishments in bullet points or a table format.
Personal interests: Share some hobbies or interests related to your profession or that showcase your values.
Personal goals or mission statement: Include a sentence or two about your professional philosophy and core values to give readers a sense of your personal brand.

Related: How to Write a Personal Mission Statement (20 Examples)

Be cautious with the contact information you provide, especially if your bio will be accessible to the public on your personal website or social media profiles. Make sure only the necessary details are included to avoid any privacy concerns.

In summary, your short bio should be a reflection of both your personal and professional self. Showcase your skills and accomplishments while adding personal touches to make it engaging and relatable. Keep the text concise, use appropriate formatting, and remember to maintain a confident, knowledgeable, neutral, and clear tone throughout your bio.

Related: What Are Your Values? How to Discover Your Values

Selecting the Tone for Your Short Bio

Selecting the right tone for your short bio is crucial to portraying yourself in the way you want to be perceived. Consider the context in which the bio will be read and choose a tone accordingly. There are two main tones you can adopt: formal and casual.

Part 3 Example of a Formal Short Bio

Formal Tone : If you’re writing a bio for a professional context, such as a job, conference, or publication, opt for a formal tone. This means using more sophisticated language, avoiding slang, and maintaining a professional vibe throughout the bio. To achieve this, write in complete sentences, utilize proper grammar and punctuation, and highlight your achievements and expertise. Be sure to remain confident and clear in your writing. Example: “Dr. Jane Doe is a renowned expert in the field of molecular biology, with over 15 years of research experience to her credit. As the recipient of several prestigious awards, Dr. Doe’s groundbreaking work has had a significant impact on the scientific community.”

Part 4 Example of a Casual Short Bio

Casual Tone : A casual tone works well for less formal situations, such as bios on personal websites, blogs, or social media profiles. Here, you can use more relaxed language and showcase your personality. However, it’s still important to sound knowledgeable and approachable. Feel free to use contractions, incorporate humor, and speak directly to your audience to create an engaging tone.

“Hey there! I’m John, a travel enthusiast who loves exploring new cultures and tasting exotic dishes. When I’m not backpacking across the globe, you can find me geeking out about the latest tech gadgets or sipping on a well-crafted cocktail.”

In both cases, whether formal or casual, always ensure that your voice is confident, neutral, and clear. Remember to keep it concise, avoid exaggeration or false claims, and maintain a second-person point of view.

Part 5 Examples of Well-Written Short Bios

Short bio example 1.

Jane Smith is a marketing expert with over 10 years of experience in helping brands elevate their online presence. With a passion for storytelling, Jane excels in creating content that engages and inspires. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, photography, and exploring her city’s local coffee shops. Connect with Jane on LinkedIn or follow her on Twitter @JaneSmith.

Short Bio Example 2

John Doe is an experienced software engineer with a knack for developing cutting-edge applications. Specializing in full-stack web development, John’s expertise lies in JavaScript, Python, and Node.js. When he’s not coding, John can be found playing the guitar, tutoring local students in programming, or cheering on his favorite esports team.

Part 6 Short Bio: Best Templates

Short bio template 1.

[Your Name] is a [industry or profession] expert with [number of years] of experience in [specific skills or areas of expertise]. [He/She/They] specializes in [technical skills or industry knowledge] and has a passion for [relevant interests]. In [his/her/their] free time, [your name] enjoys [hobbies or activities]. Connect with [your name] on [social media platforms] or through [his/her/their] website.

Short Bio Template 2

As a [occupation or field], [Your Name] incorporates [unique qualities or skills] to produce [specific type of work]. With a background in [relevant experience], [He/She/They] has been able to [achievement or accomplishment] through [personal path or passion]. When not [working or creating], [Your Name] spends [his/her/their] time [hobbies or activities], always seeking new inspiration.

[Your name] is a [profession or role] with a background in [relevant expertise or industry]. [He/She/They] earned a [degree] in [field] from [institution]. [Your name] has [number of years] experience in [profession/industry], providing [valuable service or skill]. Outside of work, [your name] enjoys [hobbies or personal interests]. Connect with [your name] on [social media platform] or visit [your website or portfolio].

Customize these examples and templates to fit your own unique skills, experiences, and personality. Using a second person point of view, focus on the key aspects you want your audience to know about. Be confident and transparent about your achievements and interests, and let your short bio speak for itself. Happy writing!

Part 7 Tips for Writing a Short Bio

Know your target audience : Consider the people who will be reading your bio and focus on the information that will be most relevant to them. Tailor your bio to best serve their needs and expectations.
Highlight your accomplishments : Share information on your achievements, awards, and notable experiences. This will give your audience an understanding of your expertise and success in your field.
Include your goals and mission statement : Tell your audience what drives you and what you hope to achieve. This can help create a connection with the reader and showcase your dedication to your work.
Maintain a professional tone : Write in a clear and concise manner, avoiding casual language and slang. A confident and knowledgeable tone will convey your competence in your field.
Keep personal information to a minimum : While you may choose to mention some personal tidbits, be mindful of what you share. Focus on information that enhances your professional image, rather than oversharing personal details.
Promote your brand and company : If you represent a business or have a personal brand, mention your company name and mission statement. This can help reinforce your brand identity and make a stronger impression on your audience.
Prioritize transparency and authenticity : Be honest about your experience and qualifications. Avoid exaggerating or making false claims in order to maintain trust with your audience.
Limit self-promotion : While it’s important to show off your accomplishments, be sure to keep the focus on meaningful information rather than excessive self-promotion. This will help engage readers and build credibility.
Use formatting to enhance readability : Break up your bio into paragraphs, use bullet points for lists, and bold text for important details. This will make it easier for your audience to read and understand your bio.
Include contact information : Provide a way for your audience to get in touch with you, whether it’s an email address, phone number, or a link to your website.

Part 8 Optimizing Your Bio for Different Platforms

On LinkedIn , focus on your professional achievements and skills. Use bullet points or a table to highlight your most significant accomplishments. Feel free to include any relevant certifications, courses, or awards. Remember that LinkedIn is a professional networking platform, so maintaining a professional tone is crucial.

For a resume , your bio should be concise and focus on summarizing your career history and specific expertise. Make it easy for potential employers to grasp your main strengths quickly. Use bold text to emphasize crucial information, such as your job title, years of experience, or industry-specific skills.

On a personal website , you have more freedom to express your personality and showcase unique aspects of your life. Consider adding anecdotes, hobbies, or personal achievements to give visitors a glimpse of who you are outside of your professional life. You can also touch on your professional capabilities but keep it concise.

For Twitter , keep in mind the character limit for bios and make every word count. Capture your profession or industry, and maybe add a touch of your personality or interests through emojis or hashtags. It’s common to see authors and celebrities mention their latest projects, books, or achievements here.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the essential elements of a short bio.

A short bio should include:

Your name and current role or profession.
Brief background information including education and relevant work experience.
Notable accomplishments or skills relevant to your profession.
Personal interests or ambitions that showcase your personality.
A call-to-action, such as directing readers to your portfolio or LinkedIn profile.

How can I create a compelling short professional bio?

To create a compelling short professional bio, follow these steps:

Start strong with a clear and concise introduction.
Focus on your most relevant qualifications and experience.
Highlight key achievements and successes.
Provide a personal touch that showcases your unique attributes.
Keep it brief and easy to read, aiming for around 100-150 words.

What are some tips to make my short bio stand out?

Use vivid language and strong, active verbs.
Tailor your bio to your audience, emphasizing information that is most relevant to them.
Share a unique or unexpected personal interest to pique interest.
Edit and proofread your bio carefully, ensuring it is free of errors and reads smoothly.

How can I tailor my short bio to different contexts?

Adjust your short bio for different contexts by:

Focusing on relevant skills, experience, or accomplishments for each specific audience.
Adjusting the tone or language to suit the platform (e.g., more casual for a social media profile or more formal for a conference bio).
Emphasizing specific personal interests or accomplishments that align with the context or audience.
Updating your call-to-action as needed to direct readers to relevant content or profiles.

Related: 150+ Awesome Examples of Personal Values

How to Write a Personal Mission Statement (20 Examples)
How to Live By Your Values

How to Write a Good Academic Biography (Part 1)

When your journal article gets accepted or you are preparing for a public presentation, you will often be asked for a short academic biography. For many people, these academic bios are more difficult to write than a dissertation. How do you sum up yourself and your work in 3-5 sentences? What do you need to include? What should you leave out?

What You Should Do

Start with your full name followed by your current position, your general interests, and your current project, keeping them all very brief.
If you are within a year of receiving a prestigious award, mention that as well.
Finally, finish with a sentence that’s personal: add a hobby, a pet’s name, the city you live in—whatever you are comfortable with that is personal but not too private.

What You Should Avoid

Avoid speaking in the first person, i.e., don’t use “I.”
Don’t divulge details beyond your current position.
In a longer bio of multiple paragraphs, you may add more awards and information about your master’s and bachelor’s degrees, but not in a short bio. Moreover, don’t add anything that happened before grad school—including your place of birth. For example:

Hi! My name is Scott. I was originally born in Vermont and now I’m a professor at North Yankee University in Fargone, New York (in upstate New York). I study antelopes’ migration patterns and their impact of native grain growth. My interest in antelopes began as a teenager when I first saw one in the wild. I did my undergrad degree in biology at SUNY and my masters and UCLA and my PhD in Forestry at Hunter College.

Related: Finished drafting your academic biography and heading for an international conference? Check out this post now!

The above example is far too casual and Scott’s work and current position are overshadowed by all the other random details. This can be written in a much better way:

Scott Sampson is a professor of Wildlife Biology at North Yankee University. His work focuses specifically on the migration patterns of antelope and their impact on the growth of native grain. His favorite place to do research in his backyard, which opens to the Akron National Forest.

This improvised version is concise, relevant, and makes Scott’s bio appear professional while giving a short description of his personal details.

Longer Bios

For longer bios, follow the same basic rules, but go into a bit more depth about your work, your education, and your future projects or interests. You may also consider adding a line about your immediate family. But as always, leave the personal details for a short and friendly mention at the end of the bio.

Mostly, your bio will be used by someone to introduce you at a conference or public event so if you write your bio using these tips, you will help them give a smooth and accurate introduction. Remember that the bio is the first thing that people know about you so pack it full of the most important things about yourself!

If you would like to know more about different formats of academic biography, read the next article in this series!

Appreciating the dedication you put into your blog and detailed information you provide. It’s good to come across a blog every once in a while that isn’t the same out of date rehashed material. Fantastic read! I’ve bookmarked your site and I’m including your RSS feeds to my Google account.

Greeting from Enago Academy! Thank you for your positive comment. We are glad to know that you found our resources useful. Your feedback is very valuable to us. Happy reading!

Super helpful! Thank you for writing about this.

wow great article. I got lots of new ideas from this post. Thanks a lot.

Thank you! Really a short and precise description of how to write short biographic sentence.

Excellent! Just what I needed; thank you.

Thanks for sharing this post, It is a very helpful article.

Excellent information…

Comparing to my introduction and yours, there is a huge difference and mine is like grade R?. Thank you so much for developing such content and helping disadvantaged students like me, hence holding Honours. Once again thank you

it is good, i learnt something new

Your articles are so much meaningful and informative.

Rate this article Cancel Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Enago Academy's Most Popular Articles

Manuscripts & Grants
Reporting Research

How to Write a Good Academic Biography (Part 2)

Writing an academic biography is part of many academic activities. Whether your paper is accepted…

Sign-up to read more

Subscribe for free to get unrestricted access to all our resources on research writing and academic publishing including:

2000+ blog articles
50+ Webinars
10+ Expert podcasts
50+ Infographics
10+ Checklists
Research Guides

We hate spam too. We promise to protect your privacy and never spam you.

I am looking for Editing/ Proofreading services for my manuscript Tentative date of next journal submission:

As a researcher, what do you consider most when choosing an image manipulation detector?

Explore Jobs

Jobs Near Me
Remote Jobs
Full Time Jobs
Part Time Jobs
Entry Level Jobs
Work From Home Jobs

Find Specific Jobs

$15 Per Hour Jobs
$20 Per Hour Jobs
Hiring Immediately Jobs
High School Jobs
H1b Visa Jobs

Explore Careers

Business And Financial
Architecture And Engineering
Computer And Mathematical

Explore Professions

What They Do
Certifications
Demographics

Best Companies

Health Care
Fortune 500

Explore Companies

CEO And Executies
Resume Builder
Career Advice
Explore Majors
Questions And Answers
Interview Questions

The Best Short Professional Bios (Examples + Templates)

Resume Tips
Best Resume Writing Services
Things To Avoid On A Resume
Resume Paper To Use
What To Include In A Resume
How To Write A Bio
How To Write A Personal Statement
Lied on Your Resume?
Avoid Age Discrimination
Words and Phrases You Shouldn't Include in Your Resume
How Many Skills Should You List On A Resume
Send A Resume As A Pdf
Resume Critique
Make A Resume Stand Out
Resume Spelling
Resume Past Or Present Tense
How To List Projects On A resume
Best Resume Action Words
How To Quantify Your Resume

Resume Bullet Points

Are Resume Writers Worth It
How Many Jobs To List On Resume

Summary. To write a short bio you should first make an initial introduction introducing yourself in the first or first person. Your short bio should include your brand, your accomplishments, and your values and goals. Your short bio should be one to three short paragraphs or four to eight sentences long.

Knowing how to write a concise, informative, and interesting biography about yourself can help throughout various parts of the professional process. You can use your bio to capture the attention of potential employers or clients and convince them to choose to employ or work with you.

In this article, you’ll learn more about what goes into a short bio and how to write one, and you’ll also get to see some short bio templates and examples to help you get an idea of what yours should look like.

Key Takeaways

A short bio serves to introduce you, your achievements, and what you offer professionally to potential employers or clients.

It’s important to keep your bio brief so that readers stay engaged and will remember your main points.

You may need to adjust your bio for different audiences, as your clients may want to know different information than a recruiter would.

Talk about your skills and accomplishments in your bio, but don’t exaggerate them.

What Is a Short Bio?

How to write a short bio, what to include in a short professional bio, short bio examples, short bio templates, tips for writing a short bio, writing a short bio faq.

A short bio serves as your introduction to the professional world. In terms of finding or expanding on your job, a bio will cover your:

Work history

Achievements

Any other relevant professional information

Think of it as a professional memoir that a hiring manager or consumer can read and understand quickly. It’s usually about one to three paragraphs depending on experience.

There’s an emphasis on being succinct when it comes to writing a professional bio. This is because a bio is supposed to be a preface to attract recruiter attention and incline them to reach out for more information. Many readers will get lost or bored with a lengthy bio.

Using a short bio can be helpful across very different industries, from marketing to accounting, from psychiatry to sales.

You’re probably familiar with providing short bios on social media websites and applications. While the information and skills you include in a professional bio may differ, the general formatting is similar.

There’s a lot of considerations to take into account when writing a short bio, and it can quickly become intimidating. Deciding what information is relevant and how to keep it near 140 characters is no small task.

If you’re having difficulty writing a short bio, follow the outline below to craft an introduction that engages your reader.

Make an initial introduction. You can’t jump right into everything you’ve done and what you want to do in the future before introducing yourself.

Your bio’s first sentence should begin with your full name in the third person or introduce yourself in the first person and continue to briefly outline your most notable skills and accomplishments. It’s a good place to state your current job and employer.

Go deeper with what motivates you. Once you’ve catchily illustrated who you are in your short bio, you can use the second sentence to describe your motivations for your work.

Stating what drives you to do the work you do is essential to employers and customers alike. Whether you work as a physician or fitness consultant , there’s a reason why this is your profession, and you should explain that in your short professional bio.

Describe your accomplishments. Your short bio is for detailing why you’re the ideal candidate to be trusted with handling an employer or consumer’s business. By describing your prior accomplishments, you let them know what you could offer as an employee and how you’ve succeeded in the past.

While you should avoid sounding braggy, the reader is looking for information about what your qualifications are , and your accomplishments generally measure these qualities.

Even though you could probably go on for ages about the details of your accomplishments, save that for an interview . In a short bio, only include the most impressive of your achievements to outline.

Accomplishments relevant to a short bio could include:

Impressive results on a project

Former promotions

Awards received in your field

Certifications received

Include contact information. The purpose of a short bio as either a business or a job seeker is to inspire the reader to reach out. Without contact information, this pursuit becomes futile. Make sure your short bio has some way to contact you at the end.

Relevant contact information may include:

Phone number

Professional networking profile

A short professional bio includes:

Your full name. You can choose to write your bio in the first person (I, me, my) or third person (he, she, they), but either way, you need to include your full name at some point. Branding doesn’t work so well without a brand name (i.e., you!)

Your brand. Of course, if you have an actual brand that you’re trying to market, you should include the brand name as well.

What you do. Summarize what you want the reader to know about what you do in one sentence — tricky, we know.

Your accomplishments. For a short bio, you can stick with just one major accomplishment from your professional life. Or, if you have a string of impressive achievements, try condensing all of them down to one sentence.

Your goals and values. Let the reader know what makes you tick — why do you do what you do and what do you hope to achieve with your work? People are compelled by a story more than anything else, so it’s important to get this part right.

Something personal (optional). If you have a quirky tidbit about yourself you’d like to include, go for it. Just make sure it doesn’t throw off te the tone of the rest of your bio.

Contact info (optional). If your bio is serving as a call-to-action to drum up business or get leads on job opportunities, it makes sense to include your contact information at the end of your bio. It’s not necessary if that information is available elsewhere on the page , though.

Entry-Level Job-Seeker Bio Example

Mitchell Morrison is an upcoming video producer and editor who believes in the art of visual organization. He is a recent graduate from the University of Washington and focused on post-production during his time studying there. He was introduced to the magical world of visual art production by watching his father work on editing commercials growing up and has been working towards his dream of becoming a video editor ever since. During his last year of college, Mitchell participated in a competitive internship with Digital Space Films. He was chosen out of 2,000 applicants based on his academic portfolio and personal statement essay. This internship was an incredible learning experience and resulted in three professional accreditations for music video editing. Mitchell currently lives in Seattle, Washington pursuing freelance opportunities and spending time with his Dog, Pikachu. To get into contact with Mitchell: MitchellMorrisonVideo.com/contact

Working Professional Website Bio Example

Lisa Kennedy is an experienced real estate professional. She knows how important a home is for long-term happiness and has invested her career in putting people in the house they’ve always dreamed of. Lisa was driven to pursue real estate from her passion for helping people during life-altering times, and a keen interest in high-end, luxury homes. She’s been working in the real estate industry for ten years and in that time has assisted over 3,500 people in finding homes. She was educated at the University of Los Angeles with a bachelor’s in business management. She’s worked for some of the most respectable Real Estate companies in Los Angeles and individually under her agency “Kennedy Homes.” Lisa has also been published in Real Estate Quarterly Magazine as the 2017 winner of the “Top Luxury Home Seller” award. Lisa loves the culture of Los Angeles and has been living there with her family of five since she graduated from college. She enjoys spending her free time exploring towns along the West Coast and swimming. If you’d like to get in touch with Lisa: Email: [email protected]

Professional Networking Profile Bio Example

Bianca Jones Marketing Manager Miami, FL The first step towards customer satisfaction is being reached by stellar product marketing, and that’s what I aim to provide. My professional experience as a product marketing manager has allowed me to assist many organizations in improving their sales margins and audience response to emerging products. I’ve brought dedication and positive results to the companies I’ve worked for because I am passionate about product perception, marketing, and business statistics. What drives a product to success interests and inspires me. I specialize in long-term growth strategies and audience outreach. In addition to eight years of experience in professional product marketing, I have also published two books on creating a career as a marketer called “What to Do After Your Bachelor’s” and “A Marketer’s How-To.” If you’re interested in learning more about how to market your business better, or just discuss more, feel free to contact me by email at [email protected].

Your first choice is whether you want your bio to be written in the third person or first person. These short bio templates show both options, and also include different ideas for what to include, and how. Feel free to pick and choose your favorite parts of each of the two.

[Full Name] is a [job title] who [believes/knows] in the power of [what you do]. [He/She/They] began their journey in [field] by [how you got started in the field], and now dreams of [what you hope to accomplish]. [His/Her/Their] biggest accomplishment to date has been [your biggest accomplishment]. [Full Name] lives in [where you live] and participates in [a hobby/interest]. To get in touch with [Full Name], call/email/message me on [how you’d like to be contacted].

I am a [job title] who helps [who you help] [what you help them do]. It’s my belief that [your unique perspective on the field]. In the past [# of years] years, I’ve [major accomplishment #1] through [how you accomplished it]. I have a passion for [your professional passion], but on the side, I also enjoy [personal passion]. Get in touch with me today at [contact info] — I look forward to talking with you about [what you want to talk to your readers about].

You have a firm grasp of the structure of a short bio and what to include. Now, you may need some tips for how to polish your short professional bio and make it stand out from the competition.

Be mindful of length. While you’re probably getting sick of hearing that your bio should be short, it’s good to keep in mind throughout the writing process. It’s easy to go off on a tangent while trying to include everything relevant or rationalize, making your bio too long.

Avoid this impulse. The point of a bio is that it’s limited. You want to intrigue the reader enough to inspire them to seek more information about you or your services.

Tailor your bio to your intended audience. Whether you’re using a short bio to attract a particular customer base or potential employer, tailoring it to fit their wants and needs is crucial. Consider your intended audience base and what they’re looking for in a candidate or service.

Be genuine. Your short bio should be an authentic representation of your traits, experience, and personality. People are repelled by what they interpret as stretching the truth. If you’re being received as disingenuous by the reader, they’ll probably move on.

Proofread. The only way to steer clear of errors in your short bio is by proofreading it. Imagine a hiring manager being completely interested in your bio.

They love what you have to say about yourself and find your prior experience enticing. That is, until they come across a mistake that clearly shows you didn’t do proofread or edit.

Include links to your portfolio, website, or networking profile. One way to circumvent the confining factor of keeping your bio short is by including links to more detailed sources.

This can be in the form of linking your portfolio or website to allow the reader to go deeper into your discussed skills if they please, without taking up more space in your bio.

Implement these links seamlessly into your bio by attaching them to anchor words that describe what clicking will lead them to.

Add some personality. You aren’t the only person who has an impressive list of accomplishments to put on a bio, so you’re going to need to find some additional ways to make an impression.

What should a short bio include?

A short bio should include your name, what you do, and your achievements. You should also include your company or product’s brand, if you have one, and your goals and motivations for doing what you do. This humanizes you and helps you stand out from the rest of the pack.

How long is a short bio?

A short bio is typically one to three paragraphs long. These should be short paragraphs though, as other experts say that between four and eight sentences is the ideal length for a short bio.

What makes a good bio?

A good bio is succinct and memorable. Readers don’t want to spend long reading about your professional and personal life, so go back and cut it down to the important parts multiple times after you draft it. You might be surprised at how little you actually need to include.

What should you avoid putting in a short bio?

You should avoid including anything negative or arrogate. It’s never a good idea to write anything negative about previous jobs or employers. Only include positive things in your professional short bio.

It’s important to include your achievements in a short bio, but there is a fine line between mentioning your achievements and bragging about them. Stick to the facts when talking about your accomplishments.

Fremont University – Building Your Professional Bio

How useful was this post?

Click on a star to rate it!

Average rating / 5. Vote count:

No votes so far! Be the first to rate this post.

Sky Ariella is a professional freelance writer, originally from New York. She has been featured on websites and online magazines covering topics in career, travel, and lifestyle. She received her BA in psychology from Hunter College.

Don Pippin is an executive and HR leader for Fortune 50 and 500 companies and startups. In 2008, Don launched area|Talent with a focus on helping clients identify their brand. As a Certified Professional Resume Writer, Certified Digital Career Strategist, and Certified Personal Branding Strategist, Don guides clients through career transitions.

Recent Job Searches

Registered Nurse Jobs Resume Location
Truck Driver Jobs Resume Location
Call Center Representative Jobs Resume Location
Customer Service Representative Jobs Resume
Delivery Driver Jobs Resume Location
Warehouse Worker Jobs Resume Location
Account Executive Jobs Resume Location
Sales Associate Jobs Resume Location
Licensed Practical Nurse Jobs Resume Location
Company Driver Jobs Resume

How To Write An American Resume

How To Write A College Application Resume (With Examples)

How To Write A Resume Objective Statement With Examples

Career Advice >

27 of the Best Professional Bio Examples I've Ever Seen [+ Templates]

Published: December 20, 2023

As a writer, I have to let readers and potential clients know my expertise, my skills, and why they should work with me or be interested in what I say. So, a professional bio is a must in my industry.

Though I'm definitely familiar with professional bios, I can admit they can be challenging. What do I include? What do readers need to know?

As daunting as writing a professional bio can be, professional bios are crucial when applying for jobs, seeking new clients, or networking. A professional bio also gives the world a brief snapshot of you and your professional ideals.

If you‘re at a loss for how to write a professional bio that packs a punch, I’ve got you covered. In this journey, tools like HubSpot’s user-friendly drag-and-drop website builder can be instrumental in showcasing your professional bio online with ease and style.

I will walk you through how to write a professional bio that you can proudly publish, provide professional bio templates, and show you the best professional bio examples you can get inspiration from.

What is a professional bio?

Professional bio templates, how to write a professional bio, best professional bio examples, how to write a short bio.

80+ Professional Bio Templates & Examples

Create a compelling professional narrative for a proper, attention-grabbing introduction.

LinkedIn Summaries
Speaker Intros
Website Bios
Professional Profile

You're all set!

Click this link to access this resource at any time.

Tell us a little about yourself below to gain access today:

A professional bio or biography is a short overview of your experience. Professional bios usually include details about education, employment, achievements, and relevant skills.

Purpose of Professional Bios

A bio tells an audience about who you are, what you've done, and what you can do. It can help potential employers, fans, or customers understand your personality and what you stand for.

Writing a bio without a clear starting point is challenging — believe me, I've tried. To ease the process, here are some templates I put together to get you started.

I‘ve found it’s best to keep your professional bio honest and to the point. Too long of a bio, and you risk losing your audience's attention. After all, audiences will only read a web page for less than a minute before clicking elsewhere.

And honesty is key because most consumers and clients won‘t invest in someone or something if it doesn’t seem trustworthy. In fact, 67% of consumers say they must trust a brand before investing in its products or services.

"Plus," she adds, "I'm always happy to talk about my cats at any given moment. You never know when a fellow cat mom could be reading."

Values and Work Approach

Your values can sometimes show your work ethic more effectively than your career path. It can also help you endear yourself to employers and colleagues who want to work with people with similar values.

So don‘t be shy: Share how you incorporate your values into your work. Whether it’s a commitment to innovation, customer satisfaction, or ethical decision-making, explain what drives you and be enthusiastic about it.

Your Personality

Remember: Your bio should always include a taste of your personality! Your sense of humor, creativity, or collaborative nature could all give readers a sense of who you are. This helps readers connect with you on a more personal level.

Remember to tailor your bio for different platforms and audiences. Also, keep it concise and impactful while highlighting the most relevant information in each context.

First-Person Bio vs. Third-Person Bio

While first-person bios are common, third-person bios can be more effective in formal situations.

Your decision to write your professional bio in the first or third person depends on your desire to leave a more personable or assertive impression.

Both approaches work, provided you tailor them to your goals and audience. What’s important is to be clear and tell your story in a way that connects with your reader.

How to Write a First-Person Bio

Writing in the first person can be a great way to connect with your audience when building a personal brand. When you write a first-person bio, use "I" or "me" to make yourself relatable and approachable.

Here's one way I’d write a first-person bio:

"I'm a freelance writer specializing in small business content. I've worked with companies in a variety of industries like home care to fine leather goods."

Speaking in the first person here connects you with a client or brand based on your experience and opinions. Put another way, writing a first-person bio is like telling your story to your audience.

Here are a few tips to make your first-person bio great:

Don’t start every sentence with "I."

Showing instead of telling is a great approach.

Let’s say you’re a writer who wants to create a short professional bio. Instead of saying, "I love to write," you can say, "Writer. Bad but enthusiastic dancer."

This portrays your writing skill, shows your personality outside of writing as a dancer, and includes a little sense of humor, which is essential for a writer.

Remember, you know yourself better than anyone.

Adding a back story to your bio helps create context for the roles and successes you write about. Think of it like a case study about who you were, what you are now, and the process that got you to your current position.

Focus on valuable details.

Quick facts about you can showcase your identity and values. For example, if you're writing a bio for LinkedIn, think about how to tie your hobby into what you do.

Let's say Animal Crossing is your hobby. Does it align with your career aspirations? It can be a great addition to your bio if you want to pursue a video game career.

However, if your interests lie elsewhere, including a more relevant hobby is better.

How to Write a Third-Person Bio

Third-person bios sound more authoritative and objective. So, if you’re job searching in a formal industry, applying for grants, or trying to get published, you may want to stick to the third person.

For instance, when you write a third-person bio, you may start with:

"Jasmine Montgomery is a Senior Hiring Manager at L’Oreal based in New York. She recruits across several business units to connect with the brightest talent from around the globe."

By only using your name and pronouns to speak about yourself here, you are letting your title and skill set speak for themselves.

These bios create distance between the subject of the bio (you) and the reader through a third person. This person could be anyone, but they usually speak in a tone emphasizing their expertise.

This makes third-person bios feel aloof or overly formal sometimes.

Ideally, your third-person bio should sound friendly but polished, like a message from a close colleague at work. Here are a few tips on how to write a great third-person bio.

Write from the perspective of someone you know and trust.

It can be challenging to write about yourself, so try to see yourself from the perspective of your favorite person at work or a mentor you trust. This can help you write from a position of authority without feeling self-conscious.

Show the reader why they should trust your opinion.

A professional bio often reflects a specific industry or niche. With this in mind, your text should include relevant details that professionals in your industry know. Avoid jargon whenever you can.

Remember, you're telling a story.

If you want a third-person bio, but you're used to writing in first-person, it may help to write it the most comfortable way for you.

Your professional bio is an essential piece of writing, so edit it carefully. Edit your writing from both points of view and see which works best for your target audience.

Here's how to write a professional bio, step by step.

Create an 'About' page for your website or profile.
Begin writing your bio with your first and last name.
Mention any associated brand name you might use.
State your current position and what you do.
Include at least one professional accomplishment.
Describe your values and how they inform your career.
Briefly tell your readers who you are outside of work.
Use humor or a personal story to add flavor to your professional bio.

If you’re anything like me, you probably don't think about your professional bio until you’re asked to "send one over via email."

You have one afternoon to come up with it, so you scramble together a bio that ends up reading like this:

"Rodney Erickson is a content marketing professional at HubSpot, a CRM platform that helps companies attract visitors, convert leads, and close customers.

Previously, Rodney worked as a marketing manager for a tech software startup. He graduated with honors from Columbia University with a dual degree in Business Administration and Creative Writing."

To be fair, in certain contexts, your professional bio needs to be more formal, like Mr. Erickson's up there. But there are also cases where writing a personable and conversational bio is good.

Whether you choose the formal or casual route, use the following steps to create a perfect bio.

1. Create an 'About' page for your website or profile.

You need an online space to keep your professional bio. Here are a few to consider (some of these you might already have in place):

Facebook Business page .
Industry blog byline .
Instagram account .
Personal website .
LinkedIn profile .
Industry website .
Personal blog .

As you'll see in the professional bio examples below, the length and tone of your bio will differ depending on the platforms you use.

Instagram, for example, allows only 150 characters of bio space, whereas you can write as much as you want on your website or Facebook Business page.

2. Begin writing your bio with your first and last name.

If your readers remember nothing else about your bio, they should remember your name. Therefore, it's a good idea for your first and last name to be the first two words of your professional bio.

Even if your name is printed above this bio (hint: it should), this is a rare moment where it's okay to be redundant.

For example, if I were writing my bio, I might start it like this:

Lindsay Kolowich

Lindsay Kolowich is a Senior Marketing Manager at HubSpot.

3. Mention any associated brand name you might use.

Will your professional bio represent you or a business you work for? Ensure you mention the brand you associate with in your bio. If you're a freelancer, you may have a personal business name or pseudonym you advertise to your clients.

Here are a few examples:

Lindsay Kolowich Marketing.
SEO Lindsay.
Kolowich Consulting.
Content by Kolowich (what do you think ... too cheesy?).

Maybe you founded your own company and want its name to be separate from your real name. Keep it simple like this: "Lindsay Kolowich is the founder and CEO of Kolowich Consulting."

4. State your current position and what you do.

Whether you're the author of a novel or a mid-level specialist, use the following few lines of your bio to describe what you do in that position. Refrain from assuming your audience knows what your job title entails.

Make your primary responsibilities known so readers can know you and understand what you offer to your industry.

5. Include at least one professional accomplishment.

Just as a business touts its client successes through case studies, your professional bio should let your audience know what you've achieved.

What have you done for yourself — as well as for others — that makes you a valuable player in your industry?

6. Describe your values and how they inform your career.

Why do you do what you do? What might make your contribution to the market different from your colleagues? What are the values that make your business a worthwhile investment to others?

Create a professional bio that answers these questions.

7. Briefly tell your readers who you are outside of work.

Transition from describing your values in work to defining who you are outside of work. This may include:

Your family.
Your hometown.
Sports you play.
Hobbies and interests.
Favorite music and travel destinations.
Side hustles you're working on.

People like connecting with other people. The more transparent you are about who you are personally, the more likable you'll be to people reading about you.

8. Use humor or a personal story to add flavor to your professional bio.

End your professional bio on a good or, more specifically, a funny note. By leaving your audience with something quirky or unique, you can ensure they'll leave your website with a pleasant impression of you.

Following the steps above when writing your bio is important, but take your time with one section. People consume lots of information daily. So ensure your bio hooks 'em in the first line, and you won’t lose them.

(P.S. Want to boost your professional brand? Take one of HubSpot Academy's free certification courses . In just one weekend, you can add a line to your resume and bio that over 60,000 marketers covet.)

Why Good Bios Are Important for a Professional

You may think, "How many people read professional bios, anyway?"

The answer: A lot. Though there's no way to tell who is reading it, you want it catchy. Your professional bio will delight the right people coming across it on multiple platforms.

Professional bios can live on your LinkedIn profile , company website, guest posts, speaker profiles, Twitter bio , Instagram bio , and many other places.

And most importantly, it‘s the tool you can leverage most when you’re networking.

Bottom line? People will read your professional bio. Whether they remember it or it makes them care about you is a matter of how well you present yourself to your intended audience.

So, what does a top-notch professional bio look like? Let‘s review a few sample bios for professionals like you and me. Then, we’ll cover bio examples from some of the best people in the industry.

Short Sample Bios

Your bio doesn't have to be complicated. Here are five samples to glean inspiration from.

Example 1: Friendly Sample Bio

"Hey! My name is Ryan, and I'm a marketing specialist passionate about digital advertising. I have five years of experience managing various online campaigns and improving brand visibility for clients across multiple verticals. I love analyzing consumer behavior and leveraging data-driven strategies to maximize ROI. Outside work, I enjoy traveling, taking funny photos, and exploring new hiking trails."

Example 2: Mid-Career Sample Bio

"Jennifer Patel is a versatile graphic designer known for her creative approach and attention to detail. With a background in visual arts and eight years of experience, Jennifer has worked on diverse projects ranging from logo designs to website layouts. Her ability to understand and translate client needs into visually striking designs sets her apart. Jennifer finds inspiration in nature, music, and pop culture."

Example 3: Sales Sample Bio

"I'm a seasoned sales executive with a track record of exceeding targets and building strong client relationships. With a background in B2B sales, I've built a natural ability to understand customer needs and consistently exceed quota every month. I pride myself in my communication skills and strategic approaches, which have helped me thrive in highly competitive markets such as SaaS sales. Outside work, I enjoy playing basketball and volunteering at local charities."

Example 4: HR Sample Bio

"I am a dedicated human resources professional with a passion for fostering a positive workplace culture and facilitating employee development. With eight years of experience in talent acquisition and HR operations, I've played a key role in building high-performing teams. I'm known for my strong interpersonal skills and ability to create inclusive and supportive work environments. In my free time, I enjoy practicing yoga and exploring new culinary experiences."

Example 5: Software Engineer Sample Bio

"David Chang is a senior software engineer specializing in backend development. With a strong background in computer science and six years of experience, David has successfully built scalable and efficient solutions for complex technical challenges. He is well-versed in various programming languages and frameworks like C++, Java, and Ruby on Rails. In his spare time, David enjoys reading science fiction novels and playing the guitar."

Below, we've curated some of the best professional bio examples we've ever seen on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and the various places you might describe yourself.

Check 'em out and use them as inspiration when crafting your own.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: Author
Chima Mmeje: SEO Content Writer
DJ Nexus: DJ
Lena Axelsson: Marriage & Family Therapist
Mark Levy: Branding Firm Founder
Audra Simpson: Political Anthropologist
Marie Mikhail: Professional Recruiter
Wonbo Woo: Executive Producer
Chris Burkard: Freelance Photographer
Lisa Quine: Creative Consultant
Nancy Twine: Hair Care Founder
Trinity Mouzon: Wellness Brand Founder
Alberto Perez: Co-Founder of Zumba Fitness
Ann Handley: Writer and Marketer

1. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie : Author

Bio platform: personal website.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie begins her professional bio with an invitation to her roots.

In a few paragraphs, she describes when and where she was born, her family, her education, her honorary degrees, and the depth of her work, which has been translated into 30 languages and several publications.

She can keep readers engaged by leading with a powerful hook that aligns with her target audience’s marketing needs.

There’s clarity about who Chima serves.
The hook is bold, catchy, and compels anyone to read further.
Including client results makes clients visualize what they can expect.

3. DJ Nexus : DJ

Bio platform: facebook.

This New England-based DJ has single-handedly captured the Likes of over 2,000 people in and beyond Boston, MA. And even if you don‘t listen to the type of music he produces, it’s hard not to read his compelling Facebook bio.

For instance, consider his tagline, under "About" — " Quiet during the day. QUITE LOUD at night! " DJ Nexus tells you when he works awesomely. I got goosebumps just imagining a dance club where he might play music.

The second is the "long version," which is even more interesting than the first. Why? It reads like a story — a compelling one, at that. In fact, it gets hilarious in some parts.

The second sentence of the bio reads: "He was frightened of public school, loved playing baseball and football, ran home to watch ape films on the 4:30 Movie, listened to The Jam and The Buzzcocks, and read magic trick books."

Here's another excerpt from the middle:

It's a well-put value proposition that sets her apart from the rest of the HR industry.

Marie concludes her bio with a smooth mix of professional skills, like her Spanish fluency, and personal interests, such as podcasting and Star Wars (she mentions the latter with just the right amount of humor).

Straight off the bat, Marie uses a story to share her experiences of how she began as a recruiter.
It provides a subtle pitch for readers to check out her podcast.
The bio exudes Maries approachable, fun, and playful personality.

8. Wonbo Woo : Executive Producer

Wonbo Woo is the executive producer of WIRED's video content and has several impressive credits to his name. What does this mean for his professional bio? He has to prioritize.

With this in mind, Wonbo opens his bio with the most eye-catching details first (if the image below is hard to read, click it to see the full copy ).

I wouldn‘t necessarily be inclined to follow Chris if his bio had simply read, "I post beautiful images." But images that inspire me to travel? Now that’s something I can get behind.

Last, he ends on a humble, sweet note: "He is happiest with his wife Breanne raising their two sons." So inject personal information into your bio — it makes you seem approachable.

It highlights Chris’s achievement without bragging.
The last sentence portrays Chris as a responsible man who loves his family.
The well-written bio speaks to nature lovers who like the outdoors, surfing, and more. This gives them reasons to follow Chris.

10. Lisa Quine : Creative Consultant

Bio platform: portfolio website.

Creative professionals who specialize in visual art may find it challenging to balance the writing of their bio and displaying of their portfolio. Not Lisa Quine. Lisa has an exceptional balance of her professional bio and creative work.

Throughout her bio, you'll notice the number of murals she's completed and a brief timeline of her career. This helps her paint the picture of who she is as a professional.

The rest of her bio similarly focuses on Twine's strengths as someone who’s able to take hair care "back to basics."

Mouzon effectively grips the reader's attention with this introduction and then dives into some of her impressive accomplishments — including a brand now sold at Urban Outfitters and Target.

The language used throughout Mouzon's bio is authentic, real, and honest.

For instance, in the second paragraph, she admits:

"While building a brand may have looked effortless from the outside, starting a business at age 23 with no resources or funding quickly forced me to realize that early-stage entrepreneurship was anything but transparent."

As an avid Zumba fan, I was excited to include this one. Perez styles his LinkedIn bio as a short story, starting with his background as a hard-working teen who held three jobs by age 14.

His bio tells the fun and fascinating origin story of Zumba, in which Perez, an aerobics teacher in Florida at the time, forgot his music for class and used a Latin music cassette tape instead ... "And it was an instant hit!"

His bio continues:

"Shortly after he was connected to Alberto Periman and Alberto Aghion, and Zumba was officially created ... What started as a dream now has 15 million people in more than 200,000 locations in 186 countries who take Zumba classes every week."

There's something in there for everyone.

The last section of the bio shows Ann’s warm personality — "Ann lives in Boston, where she is Mom to creatures two- and four-legged."
Written in the third person, this bio has lots of proof (like followers), which shows Ann is a terrific marketing leader.

If you're posting a bio on a social media account or sending a quick blurb to a client, you want to keep it short and sweet while showcasing your accomplishments.

To get started, use these best practices for writing your short professional bio:

Introduce yourself.
State what you do.
Add key skills or areas of expertise.
Include a personal mission statement
Celebrate your wins.
Provide your contact information.
Show them your personality.

1. Introduce yourself.

Your introduction is your first impression, so always begin by telling people who you are. You may start with a greeting like, "Hello, my name is" or "Hi! Let me first introduce myself …" when sending your bio as a message.

If you’re writing a bio for an online platform, stating your name at the beginning works as well.

Leading with your name — even as a question — is important for recognition and building relationships.

2. State what you do.

Give people an idea of what you do daily and where you work. Your job title is how the people put you into context and consider whether your profession relates to their industry.

So detail your most relevant work in your short bios, like CEO, professor, and author.

Take a cue from Angela Duckworth , who specifies what she does in her LinkedIn bio:

3. Add key skills or areas of expertise.

If you send a bio to a client or potential employer, highlight your most valuable skills. For instance, if your expertise is in social media marketing and content creation, like Ivanka Dekoning , list these skills.

A joke. "Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once. At least that’s what I learned when I created…"
Mention a hobby. "I’ll be honest: for me, tennis is life — Go Nadal!"
A fun fact. "Every year, I watch 100 new films! I’m a cinephile and love every movie genre."
A few emojis related to your interests. "🎶🤖🎾🎬🎭"

Whichever way you choose to get personal, give people a glimpse into who you are as an individual.

When writing a short bio, it can be tempting to pack in as much relevant information about yourself as possible — but this isn’t the most effective approach.

Instead, focus on including the details that you and your audience care about most and leave out the fluff.

Let's dive into a few examples of short professional bios.

Short Professional Bio Examples

Tristen Taylor: Marketing Manager
Lianna Patch: Copywriter
Precious Oboidhe: Content Strategist and Writer
Rebecca Bollwitt: Writer
Megan Gilmore: Cookbook Author
Bea Dixon: Feminine Care Founder
Tammy Hembrow: Instagram Influencer
Dr. Cody: Chiropractor
Larry Kim: Founder
Dharmesh Shah: Founder and CTO
Lily Ugbaja: Content Strategist
Ian Anderson Gray: Marketer
Van Jones: Political Commentator, Author, and Lawyer

1. Tristen Taylor: Marketing Manager

Bio platform: blog byline.

Tristen Taylor is a Marketing Manager here at HubSpot. She's written content for HubSpot's Marketing, Sales, and Customer Service blogs; her blog author bio is one of my favorites.

What I love most about Tristen's bio is that it’s a great example of how to deliver information about yourself that is relevant to your work while also sharing fun details that audiences will find relatable.

Her bio reads:

"Building from her experience with GoCo.io and Southwest Airlines, Tristen's work has been recognized by Marketing Brew and BLACK@INBOUND. She lives in Washington, DC, attending anime conventions and painting in her free time."

Gilmore further includes a CTA link within her Instagram bio that leads followers to free, ready-to-use recipes. You might think, " Why would she do that since it discourages people from buying her book?"

But that couldn't be further from the truth.

By giving her followers the chance to try out her recipes, she's slowly turning leads into customers. After I tried a few of her Instagram recipes and loved them, I bought her book, knowing I'd like more of what she offered.

The bio is short and direct.
The CTA link includes an invitation for people to join her newsletter. Meaning, she can build her email list.

6. Bea Dixon : Feminine Care Founder

Bea Dixon, Founder and CEO of The Honey Pot Company, efficiently uses the space on her Instagram profile to highlight who she is as a well-rounded human — not just a businesswoman.

For instance, while she highlights her girl boss attitude with a tiara emoji, she equally calls attention to her fashion interests (Free People), her pets, Boss and Sadie, and her love for ramen noodles.

What more do you need to know?

Ian doesn't take his bio too seriously but uses every character to highlight everything about him.

He includes his skills as a marketer and podcast host, who he is outside work as a dad, and what he can help you do. His smiles also give the bio a sense of humor and realness.

Don't forget to share this post!

The 17 Best Free Resume Builders We've Ever Discovered

40 Free Resume Templates for Microsoft Word (& How to Make Your Own)

Portfolios vs. Resumes — The Complete Guide

40 Interests That Deserve a Place on Your Resume

Making the Most of Electronic Resumes (Pro Tips and Tricks)

How to Write a Simple, Effective Resume (+20 Examples)

How to Write the Perfect Project Manager Resume

How to Write the Perfect Resume for Internships

Maximize Your Impact: 205 Action Verbs to Use on Your Resume

How Far Back Should a Resume Go? Everything You Need to Know

Create a compelling professional narrative for your summary, bio, or introduction.

Marketing software that helps you drive revenue, save time and resources, and measure and optimize your investments — all on one easy-to-use platform

Open access
Published: 07 May 2024

Short-term exposure to antibiotics begets long-term disturbance in gut microbial metabolism and molecular ecological networks

Yuehui Hong 1 , 2 na1 ,
Hao Li 1 na1 ,
Linkang Chen 1 ,
Hongtian Su 1 ,
Bin Zhang 1 ,
Chengji Li 1 ,
Zuguo Zhao 1 ,
Yiming Shao 3 &
Lianxian Guo 1

Microbiome volume 12 , Article number: 80 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

667 Accesses

10 Altmetric

Metrics details

Antibiotic exposure can occur in medical settings and from environmental sources. Long-term effects of brief antibiotic exposure in early life are largely unknown.

Post a short-term treatment by ceftriaxone to C57BL/6 mice in early life, a 14-month observation was performed using 16S rRNA gene-sequencing technique, metabolomics analysis, and metagenomics analysis on the effects of ceftriaxone exposure. Firstly, the results showed that antibiotic pre-treatment significantly disturbed gut microbial α and β diversities ( P < 0.05). Both Chao1 indices and Shannon indices manifested recovery trends over time, but they didn’t entirely recover to the baseline of control throughout the experiment. Secondly, antibiotic pre-treatment reduced the complexity of gut molecular ecological networks (MENs). Various network parameters were affected and manifested recovery trends over time with different degrees, such as nodes ( P < 0.001, R 2 = 0.6563), links ( P < 0.01, R 2 = 0.4543), number of modules ( P = 0.0672, R 2 = 0.2523), relative modularity ( P = 0.6714, R 2 = 0.0155), number of keystones ( P = 0.1003, R 2 = 0.2090), robustness_random ( P = 0.79, R 2 = 0.0063), and vulnerability ( P = 0.0528, R 2 = 0.28). The network parameters didn't entirely recover. Antibiotic exposure obviously reduced the number of key species in gut MENs. Interestingly, new keystones appeared during the recovery process of network complexity. Changes in network stability might be caused by variations in network complexity, which supports the ecological theory that complexity begets stability. Besides, the metabolism profiles of the antibiotic group and control were significantly different. Correlation analysis showed that antibiotic-induced differences in gut microbial metabolism were related to MEN changes. Antibiotic exposure also caused long-term effects on gut microbial functional networks in mice.

Conclusions

These results suggest that short-term antibiotic exposure in early life will cause long-term negative impacts on gut microbial diversity, MENs, and microbial metabolism. Therefore, great concern should be raised about children’s brief exposure to antibiotics if the results observed in mice are applicable to humans.

Video Abstract

Introduction

Antibiotics have saved many lives of patients who would have otherwise died from infections. It is therefore not surprising that antibiotics are one of the most commonly prescribed medicines to patients with infectious diseases [ 1 ], including infants and children. In addition, antibiotics are commonly used in pet animals and animal husbandry for prophylactic and therapeutic reasons and also as growth promoters [ 2 ]. They are also applied as pesticides in agriculture [ 3 , 4 ]. However, the extensive use of antibiotics has led to their regular and repeated release into the environment. An inevitable negative impact of antibiotic use is the emergence and dissemination of drug-resistant bacteria and resistance genes [ 2 ]. Antimicrobial resistance is a serious worldwide problem for both public and animal health [ 5 , 6 ]. Antibiotic resistance has now been escalated by major world health organizations to one of the top health challenges facing the twenty-first century [ 7 ]. It had been demonstrated that farms using antimicrobial growth promotants (AGPs) had more resistant bacteria in the gut floras of the farm workers and farm animals than in those on farms not using AGPs [ 7 ]. Food may act as a vector for the transmission of resistant bacteria and resistance genes to humans [ 8 ], since food is easily contaminated by resistant bacteria and resistance genes in several ways, such as during animal slaughter or food processing. When the contaminated food is ingested, the bacteria may colonize humans or transfer resistance material to other bacteria belonging to the endogenous human flora, leading to negative effects. For instance, it has been shown that pork and poultry meat can both be sources of transfer of resistant strains and genes to humans [ 8 , 9 ].

One of the main promoting factors for antimicrobial resistance is the antibiotic use for human health and problems with sanitation [ 10 ]. Hospitals are a major source for the release and spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the environment. Great concerns have been raised because hospital effluent is generally discharged untreated into the main wastewater system and eventually into the environment, which may lead to antibiotic pollution. Besides, a close correlation between antibiotic use and the development of individual and community-level bacterial resistance has been verified [ 11 ].

Antibiotics are administered to over 10% of European children yearly [ 12 ] and are one of the most commonly used drugs in Chinese children. However, great concerns have been raised regarding the negative impacts of antibiotic exposure on human health, since researches have shown that antibiotic use is associated with gut microbial dysbiosis, asthma, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), allergy, obesity, and diabetes [ 13 ]. Gut microbiota plays important roles in regulating the human immune system, in metabolism, and in hormone secretion and responses [ 14 , 15 ]. It has been well-documented that antibiotic use is related to the disorder of the gut microbiome, which may cause various diseases [ 13 ]. This is particularly noticeable in children, as their gut microbiome is more susceptible to the effects of antibiotics. In fact, it has been demonstrated that children’s exposure to antibiotics is related to an increased risk for excessive weight gain, asthma, allergies, and autoimmune diseases [ 16 , 17 ]. Besides, since animal models have verified that gut microbiota plays a role in the development of brain structure and function, great concerns have also been raised about the potential adverse impacts of antibiotics on child brain development [ 18 , 19 ]. Besides antibiotic exposure from medical settings, antibiotics from environmental sources are also an exposure risk (as mentioned above) [ 20 ].

Studies have shown that the overuse and misuse of antibiotics in animal husbandry and medicine have increased the abundance of antibiotic resistance bacteria and genes in human-associated environments [ 11 ]. Many researches have focused on antibiotic resistance, whereas investigating the long-term negative effects of antibiotic exposure in early life is also an important topic. Although it has been shown that even brief antibiotic exposure can cause long-term effects on microbiota composition, little is known about the following points: (1) the long-term effects of antibiotic exposure in early life on gut microbial metabolism; (2) whether and how antibiotic exposure in early life exhibits long-term effects on the ecological networks in gut microbial communities; (3) whether network complexity in gut microbiota is related to network stability.

In this study, to investigate whether and how early-life antibiotic exposure exhibits long-term effects on the ecological networks and metabolism of the gut microbiota, we conducted a longitudinal study spanning 14 months to examine the temporal dynamics of gut microbial networks and fecal microbial metabolism post a short-term oral administration of antibiotics in C57BL/6 mice with 8 weeks of age (Fig. 1 ). The results may provide a deep insight into the long-term negative effects of antibiotic exposure in early life and provide guidance for treatment of disorders and diseases caused by antibiotic exposure.

Schematic overview of the experimental design. N represents the sample size. PE means the paired-end sequencing mode. SPF means specific pathogen-free. Fecal samples from the 1st–14th months post the cessation of antibiotic treatment were used for 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Fecal samples from the 12th month and 0.5–12th months were detected by metagenomics analysis and metabolomics analysis, respectively

Materials and methods

Animal experiment.

This work received approval for research ethics from the Animal Care and Use Committee of the Laboratory Animal Science Institute of Guangdong Medical University (Additional file 1 ). Male C57BL/6 mice (approximately 16 g) at 4 weeks of age (SPF grade) were purchased from the Guangdong Medical Experimental Animal Center. The mice were treated humanely with efforts to minimize suffering. A schematic overview of the experimental design is shown in Fig. 1 . A total of 48 mice were adaptively fed for 4 weeks prior to experiment treatment in 8 static microisolator cages supplemented with autoclaved padding under conditions of 22 ℃, 40–70% humidity, and a 12/12-h light/dark cycle. Then, the mice were randomly divided into two groups (antibiotic group (named group A); and control (named group C)), with 24 mice in each group (9 cages per group; 2–3 mice per cage; the mice had their own number and were kept in fixed cages to avoid intra-group and inter-group mixing). Mice in group A were continuously orally administered with 0.2 mL of ceftriaxone (400 mg/mL) [ 21 , 22 , 23 ] for 8 days, twice a day with an interval of 8 h between intragastric administrations. Mice in group C were treated with sterile water by gavage in the same manner. After treatment, the mice were kept in their previous cages. Fecal samples from the mice were collected in the following 14 months. Food and water were provided to the mice ad libitum throughout the experiment. Fecal pellets from mice were collected at least once every 2 weeks during the experiment. Feces from the mice were collected under aseptic conditions, immediately snap-frozen, and stored at − 80 ℃. The feces were used for microbial diversity analysis (samples from each month of the 1st–14th months), metabolomics analysis, and metagenomics analysis (samples from the 12th month). Fecal samples from 0.5 to 12th months (0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 3.5, 4, 4.5, 5, 5.5, 6, 7, 7.5, 8, 8.5, 9, 10, 11, and 12 months) were used for the metabolomics analysis. Besides, the weight of the mice was measured during the whole experiment.

Genomic DNA extraction, PCR, and Illumina sequencing

Genomic DNA from each feces sample was extracted with the PowerSoil ® DNA isolation kit (MoBio Laboratories, Carlsbad, CA, USA) according to the directions of manufacturers. After DNA quality verification, the V4-V5 region of the 16S rRNA gene was PCR amplified using primers 515F (5′-GTGCCAGCMGCCGCGGTAA-3′) and 907R (5′-CCGTCAATTCMTTTRAGTTT-3′). The primers were provided by Invitrogen (Carlsbad, CA, USA). PCR reaction mixtures contained 1 μL of each primer (10 μM), 25 μL of 2 × Premix Taq (Takara Biotechnology, Dalian Co., Ltd., Dalian, China), 3 μL of DNA (20 ng/μL), and sterile ddH 2 O to a total volume of 50 μL. PCR was carried out by the BioRad S1000 (Bio-Rad Laboratory, Hercules, CA, USA) using the following procedures: 94 ℃ for 5 min; 30 cycles of 94 ℃ for 30 s, 52 ℃ for 30 s, and 72 ℃ for 30 s; and 72 ℃ for 10 min. Triplicate reactions were performed for each sample, and the products were mixed, followed by purification using the EZNA Gel Extraction Kit (Omega Bio-Tek, Norcross, GA, USA). Sequencing libraries were prepared with the NEBNext ® Ultra™ DNA Library Prep Kit for Illumina ® (New England Biolabs, MA, USA) following the manufacturer’s directions. Paired-end sequencing (PE250) for 220 samples was performed using the Illumina Novaseq 6000 platform (Guangdong Magigene Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Guangzhou, China).

Analysis of 16S rRNA gene-sequencing data

The obtained raw reads were processed by QIIME 2 (version 2021.2) [ 24 ]. After importing the raw data, the forward and reverse reads were truncated at 228 bases and 215 bases, respectively. Denoising and sequence combination were carried out with the DADA2 plugin [ 25 ], and sequences with a base quality score > 20 were retained. Taxonomic classification was performed using the Naïve Bayes classifier trained in the SILVA database. Unusual amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) with extremely low abundance were discarded, including the feature with a sum frequency of less than 10 at each time point and the feature appeared in less than 3 samples. Unclassified and contaminated ASVs were also filtered. Feature table, representative sequences, and species annotation were correspondingly combined. A total of 17,509,264 high-quality sequences were obtained. Rarefaction curves were analyzed. The feature table was rarefied at a depth of 37,800 sequences per sample. On the basis of the combined data, α- and β-diversity analyses were performed. Alluvial diagrams were created to visualize species composition across time. In β-diversity analysis, analysis of similarity (ANOSIM), multivariate analysis of variance (Adonis), and a multiple response permutation procedure (MRPP) were performed. Principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) and visualization were performed by the ggplot2 package based on the Bray–Curtis distance. Species difference analysis at the genus level was performed using the ALDEx2 tool. Data statistical analysis and result visualization were carried out using the R package (version 4.0.2) and GraphPad Prism 8 software. Besides, the functional potential of microbial communities was predicted based on the KEGG database using the Tax4fun2 in R package. Metabolic pathways with statistical differences were analyzed and visualized using the STAMP software.

Construction of molecular ecological networks (MENs)

MEN analysis was based on the data of 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The MEN analysis was performed according to the methods previously described [ 26 , 27 ]. MENs were constructed based on Pearson correlations of log-transformed ASV abundances, followed by a random matrix theory (RMT-)-based method, determining the correlation cut-off threshold [ 28 ]. The RMT was suitable for investigating the behaviors of various systems and MEN construction [ 29 ]. The RMT-based network method manifested obvious advantages as previously described [ 26 ]. For instance, this approach possessed a firm theoretical basis, since it was on the basis of two universal laws of RMT [ 26 ]. It can avoid arbitrary cut-off determination, which is a serious flaw in association network construction. Using the RMT-based network method can reduce the uncertainty in network construction and comparison [ 26 ]. The analysis tool of the RMT-based network method is called Molecular Ecological Network Analysis Pipeline (MENAP), which is usable from the Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Oklahoma ( http://ieg4.rccc.ou.edu/MENA/ ). To ensure the reliability of correlation analysis in this study, only the ASVs present at least in half of the samples were used for correlation calculation.

Analysis of MEN parameters

The analysis methods of various network parameters referred to the approaches previously described in detail [ 26 , 27 ]. The MEN indices were analyzed via the MENAP pipeline. The analyzed parameters included nodes, links, average degree (average K), average clustering coefficient (average CC), connectedness (Con), average path distance (GD), positive links, positive/negative ratios, number of modules, number of small modules, number of large modules, number of nodes in large modules, relative modularity (RM), number of keystones, vulnerability, and robustness. Connectors, module hubs, and network hubs were regarded as keystones [ 30 ]. To examine how each network parameter changed with time, regression analysis was performed between each network parameter and time (in months). Vulnerability and robustness were applied to characterize the stability of MENs. Robustness is the proportion of the remaining species in a network post random or targeted node removal [ 26 , 31 ]. To simulate random species removal, 50% of nodes were randomly removed (robustness_random_removal). To simulate targeted removal, all module hubs were removed (robustness_targeted_removal). The proportion of residue nodes was regarded as the network’s robustness. The vulnerability of a node was used to determine the relative contribution of the node to the global efficiency [ 26 ]. Efficiency in ecological networks can indicate the speed of information transmitted to parts or the whole network.

Preparation of fecal samples for metabolomics analysis

Fresh fecal samples (50 mg each) were placed in 1.5 mL centrifuge tubes. Eight samples were analyzed for each group at each sampling time. A total of 300 μL of purified water was added to every tube, followed by ultrasonic extraction for 5 min and vortex for 30 s. Then, the tubes were subjected to centrifugation (at 4 ℃) at 13,000 rpm for 15 min. Two hundred microliters of supernatant was pipetted. After discarding the residual water in the centrifuge tubes, 300 μL of methanol was added to every tube for ultrasonic extraction for 5 min, followed by vortex for 30 s. The tubes were subjected to centrifugation again (at 4 ℃) at 13,000 rpm for 15 min. Thereafter, 200 μL of supernatant was pipetted and combined with the previous supernatant in an injection vial, followed by evaporation dryness using nitrogen. After adding 80 μL of methoxyamine hydrochloride pyridine solution (20 mg/mL), the mixture was placed in an oven at 80 ℃ for 30 min. After natural cooling, 100 μL of BSTFA-TMCS was added, followed by a reaction in the oven at 70 ℃ for 2 h. Then, 150 μL of n-heptane solution containing 0.1 g/L n-docosane as internal standard was applied to terminate the reaction, followed by centrifugation at 13,000 rpm for 5 min. The resulting supernatant was used for GC–MS metabolomics analysis. Quality control (QC) sample was prepared by mixing an equal volume (50 μL) of the extract from every fecal sample. Then, the mixture (the same volume as that of other samples) served as the QC and was operated in the same way as other samples.

Acquisition of GC–MS data

The following procedure was performed according to the methods previously described [ 32 ], with some modifications. The samples were analyzed via the Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometer (7890B/5975A GC–MS System, Agilent, CA, USA). A DB-5MS UI capillary column coated with 5% phenyl methyl silox (Agilent J & W Scientific, Folsom, CA, USA) was used in the GC. One microliter of the samples was injected into the instrument at a split ratio of 10:1. Helium was used for carrier gas with a constant flow rate of 1 mL/min. The temperatures of injection, transfer line, ion source, and quadrupole were set at 280 ℃, 280 ℃, 230 ℃, and 150 ℃, respectively. The initial temperature program was set as isothermal heating (70 ℃) for 2 min, followed by increasing to 300 ℃ at a rate of 10 ℃/min. The final temperature was kept for 5 min. The solvent was delayed for 4 min. Electron impact ion source (EI) was employed with an electron energy of 70 eV. The full scan mode (SCAN) was used for data acquisition with a mass scanning range of 50–650 m/z.

Analysis of GC–MS-based metabolomics data

The GC–MS data in [.D] format were transformed into “.abf” format with the AbfConvert (AnalysisBaseFileConverter tool). The retention index for all the compounds present in the metabolomic profile was calculated. The calculation was performed based on a calibration file, containing retention time and retention index values of selected 13 compounds (Fames) present in every sample. Then, the data were preprocessed, cleaned, deconvoluted, and aligned via the Automated Mass Spectral Deconvolution and Identification System (AMDIS, National Institute of Standards and Technology, USA) interface to match against the Mass Spectral and Retention Time Index (RI) library in the Fiehnlib Metabolome Database. Metabolites were further analyzed by comparing fragmentation patterns present in the Fiehnlib database. Peak seeking and quantification of selective ion traces were performed via the AMDIS. Generally, if a compound had an AMDIS match factor over 70%, a probability score larger than 20%, and a matching RI to a known compound, it was considered “probable”. The data, including metabolite names, the specific peak index (retention time), and peak areas, were imported into R software (version 4.0.2) for internal standard normalization. QC was corrected using the RSC algorithm. Missing values were supplemented using the Random Forest algorithm, and the data were log 2 transformed.

Bioinformatics analysis of metabolomics data

After the raw data were pretreated, OPLS-DA was performed using the ropls package in R software (version 4.0.2). Values of variable importance in the projection (VIP) were obtained. Data from QC samples were removed, followed by a comparison between groups. The t -test was adopted to determine statistical significance between the two groups. The criteria “fold change (FC) > 1, VIP > 1, and P < 0.05” were used to screen up-regulated differential metabolites. FC < 1, VIP > 1, and P < 0.05 were used to identify down-regulated differential metabolites. The differential metabolites were used for matching KEGG ID by the MetaboAnalyst 4.0 ( https://www.metaboanalyst.ca/ ). Then, enrichment analysis was carried out in the KEGG database (organism group: bacteria). Visualization of differential metabolites and differential metabolic pathways was performed using R software (version 4.0.2). In addition, correlation analysis was carried out to examine the relation between network parameters and differential metabolic pathways.

Metagenomics analysis

Genomic DNA from each feces sample in the 12th month was extracted using the ALFA-SEQ Advanced Soil DNA Kit (mCHIP BioTech Co., Ltd., Guangzhou, China) according to the directions of manufacturers. Following the detection of quantity and purity, the DNA sample was mixed with fragmentation buffer and subjected to random interruption using the ultrasonic cell disruptor. Then, sequencing libraries were constructed, followed by quality detection. The Illumina HiSeq 2500 platform was used for metagenomic sequencing (PE150). After base calling, the sequencing data were transformed into raw reads in the FASTQ files. The sequencing raw data were subjected to quality control using the Trimmomactic software [ 33 ]. Clean data were aligned to the host genome sequences using the BWA software (v0.7.17; -k 30; other parameters were default) [ 34 ] and filtered to exclude the reads from the mice. The remaining clean reads were de novo assembled using the MEGAHIT ( https://github.com/voutcn/megahit ; k-min 35, k-max 95, k-step 20). Residual reads in each sample were mixed and also assembled. After the assembly, scaffolds were obtained. Scaftigs were obtained by trimming the sequences containing N in the scaffolds. The scaftigs with lengths over 500 bp were retained for further analysis. Prodigal [ 35 ] was adopted to predict the open reading frame (ORF). Gene clustering and elimination of redundancy were performed using Mmseqs [ 36 ]. A non-redundant gene catalog (Unigene) was obtained post selecting the longest sequence in each cluster as the representative sequence. Clean reads were aligned to the gene catalog using BBMap [ 37 ], followed by calculating the abundance of each Unigene in each sample. Unigenes in the non-redundant gene catalog were aligned to the NCBI-NR database for species annotation. MetaPhlAn2 [ 38 ] was also used for species annotation. Then, the results of species composition and abundance in each taxonomic hierarchy were obtained based on the species annotation and gene abundance table. The predicted gene sequences were aligned to the KEGG database for function annotation. The enrichment of KEGG pathways for each sample was analyzed. The Wilcoxon rank-sum test or t -test was adopted to analyze the differences between groups. ComplexHeatmap in the R package (version 4.2.1) was used for heatmap visualization.

Functional network analysis

Functional network analysis was based on the data of 16S rRNA gene sequencing and metagenomic sequencing, respectively. For the former analysis, metabolic pathways were predicted based on the KEGG database and the Tax4fun2 in R package. Pearson correlation coefficients between pathways were calculated, and functional networks were constructed using pathways and the correlation as nodes and links, respectively. Core subnetworks were extracted using the MCODE plugin (degree cutoff: 2; K-core: 2; Max. depth: 100) in the Cytoscape software [ 39 ]. Finally, the networks were subjected to visualization using the Cytoscape. Functional network analysis of metagenomic sequencing data was based on KEGG annotation results. Pearson correlation coefficients between proteins/enzymes or pathways at the level_3 categories were calculated. Functional networks, unless specifically stated, were constructed using pathways and the correlation as nodes and edges (links), respectively. Core subnetworks were extracted using the MCODE plugin (degree cutoff: 2; K-core: 3; Max. depth: 100) in the Cytoscape. Network visualization was also performed using the Cytoscape.

Results and discussion

Effects of antibiotic exposure on the weight and gut microbial diversity in mice.

As shown in Supplementary Figure S 1 , most time the average weight of mice in the antibiotic group seemed smaller than that of the control, whereas only days 0, 105, and 120 after the cessation of antibiotic treatment showed statistical differences. Interestingly, the weight of mice in the antibiotic group was somewhat greater than that of the control at the endpoint of 8-day antibiotic treatment (day 0). In terms of these data, it was hard to explain the underlying mechanisms of weight changes related to short-term exposure to ceftriaxone.

The rarefaction curves in microbial diversity analysis are shown in Supplementary Figure S 2 , indicating enough sequencing depth. We used linear regression analysis to reveal the changes of three α-diversity indices across time (14 months). In the first few months, Chao1 indices and Shannon indices were significantly lower in the antibiotic group (Fig. 2 a, c), indicating that antibiotic treatment resulted in reduced gut microbial diversity. In the antibiotic group Chao1 index and Shannon index showed an overall increasing trend over time, suggesting that the gut microbial diversity gradually recovered over time after cessation of antibiotic use. Both the Chao1 indices and Shannon indices from the antibiotic group in the 11th, 12th, and 13th months approached those of the control group. However, the diversity didn’t entirely recover, since the Chao1 indices between the two groups were still significantly different ( P < 0.05) in the 14th month. Although the difference in Shannon indices between the two groups in the 14th month was not statistically significant, a minor difference was observed. The Dominance indices in the first 3 months of the ceftriaxone group were greater than those of the control, indicating that some microorganisms exhibited dominance following antibiotic treatment. At the phylum level, Bacteroidota was obviously dominant in the first 3 months in the antibiotic group relative to the control (Supplementary Figure S 3 ). Proteobacteria and Desulfobacterota were dominant in the 1st and 2nd months. At the genus level, Muribaculaceae was obviously dominant in the first 3 months in the antibiotic group. It has been demonstrated that Proteobacteria is a microbial signature of dysbiosis in gut microbiota and that during the process of gut microbial dysbiosis, the adaptation of Proteobacteria will enhance, which makes them dominant [ 40 ]. Species difference analysis using the ALDEx2 tool showed that at the genus level, the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 7th months contained differential species between two groups (Supplementary Figure S 4 ). Enterococcus was enriched in the antibiotic group in the 1st and 2nd months. Enterococcus , which belongs to opportunistic pathogens, can cause infections, such as urinary tract infections, bacteremia, and endocarditis [ 41 ]. Since antibiotic-resistant bacteria might multiply, antibiotic-induced reduction in microbial diversity did not necessarily mean a reduction in bacteria load [ 42 ]. On the whole, the Dominance index in the antibiotic group decreased with time (Fig. 2 b, d), also manifesting a recovery trend to the level of control.

Results of α- and β-diversity analyses. The data were from 16S rRNA gene sequencing. M is short for month. Chao1 index, Dominance index, and Shannon index are shown in a , b , and c , respectively. Normality testing was performed using the Shapiro–Wilk test. For α-diversity, the nonparametric test was adopted due to that some samples were not in accordance with normal distribution. Wilcoxon test was performed for the comparison between the antibiotic group and control. Red and blue dotted lines indicate the regression of the antibiotic group and control, respectively. The corresponding R 2 and P values are shown. Each number around the broken lines denotes the P value of statistical analysis between two groups at each time point. d Heatmaps showing the relative magnitude of α-diversity indices between antibiotic group (A) and control (C). The values are represented by logFC (FC = A/C). The right half part of d shows the results of regression analysis (for the antibiotic group) with α-diversity indices against time. Connections between red nodes indicate that the index increases over time (positive), while connections between blue nodes represent that the index decreases with time (negative). e PCoA analysis. The Bray–Curtis distance was used for β-diversity analysis. The P values were produced from Adonis analysis. The data on ASV abundances were used for the PCoA analysis. * P < 0.05; ** P < 0.01; *** P < 0.001

The Bray–Curtis distance was adopted to analyze β-diversity. The data on ASV abundances were used for the PCoA analysis. The results showed that samples from the 1st–5th, 7th, 9th, 10th, and 12th months were significantly separated ( P < 0.05), while the 6th, 8th, 13th, and 14th months had more overlapped samples (Fig. 2 e). Three non-parametric dissimilarity analyses (ANOSIM, Adonis, and MRPP) demonstrated that significant differences in microbial diversities were observed between antibiotic group and control, in particular in the first few months (Table S 1 ).

It has been demonstrated that even a brief course of antibiotics can dramatically reduce gut microbial diversity [ 43 ], manifesting long-term negative impacts [ 44 ]. Perturbation (e.g., by antibiotics) to gut microbiota can shift the microbiome from its original equilibrium to another state [ 45 , 46 ]. In this study, it was uncertain whether the mice’s gut microbiome in the antibiotic group had reached a new balanced state since the diversity in the last few months still exhibited fluctuations. It could be seen from Fig. 2 a that the Chao1 index of the antibiotic group in the 14th month was lower than that of the control ( P < 0.05). Studies showed that reduced diversity in gut microbiota may favor the colonization and overgrowth of pathogenic microorganisms [ 45 ]. The observed dominance of Proteobacteria and Enterococcus in our research was consistent with these studies.

Collectively, α- and β-diversity analyses suggested the following points: (1) ceftriaxone treatment in early life significantly reduced the microbial diversity in the gut of C57BL/6 mice in the first few months; (2) the gut microbiome manifested a recovery trend post the cessation of treatment, but the trend seemed somewhat unstable, implying that the negative impacts of ceftriaxone exposure were long-lasting.

Effects of antibiotic exposure on gut molecular ecological networks (MENs)

In ecosystems, different species are interconnected, involving complicated ecological relationships, such as commensalism, mutualism, neutralism, amensalism, competition, predation, and parasitism. These association networks in microbial ecology are typically recognized as MENs, with species as nodes and their relationships as links [ 47 ]. We constructed 28 time-series MENs (empirical networks; Fig. 3 and Table S 2 ) based on Pearson correlations of log-transformed amplicon sequence variant (ASV) abundances, followed by a random matrix theory-based method [ 28 ], providing a threshold for network construction. The empirical MENs exhibited obvious differences from random MENs (Table S 3 ) and had scale-free characteristics ( R 2 = 0.515–0.946). The empirical MENs manifested small-world features with short geodesic distances (the average shortest path between two nodes) of 3.813–7.771 (Table S 2 ), which allowed the effects of a perturbation to distribute quickly through the whole network, rendering the entire system efficient [ 26 ]. It could be seen from Fig. 3 that in the first few months, the MENs of the ceftriaxone group were obviously simpler than those of control, indicating that antibiotic exposure reduced the network complexity of gut microbiota. Nevertheless, the network complexity showed a recovery trend over time with fluctuations.

Visualization of MENs. MENs were constructed based on Pearson correlations of log-transformed ASV abundances. A and C represent the antibiotic group and control, respectively. M is short for month. Large modules (≥ 5 nodes) are indicated by different colors, and small modules (< 5 nodes) are shown in grey. Details of network topological parameters are shown in Table S 2

To further examine whether and how antibiotic exposure affected the network complexity of gut microbiota, various network topological parameters were regressed against time. On the whole, network size (total number of nodes; P < 0.001, R 2 = 0.6563; Fig. 4 a) and network connectivity (total number of links; P < 0.01, R 2 = 0.4543; Fig. 4 b) increased across time in antibiotic group (Fig. 4 m), while the variation trend in control group was not obvious. Nodes in MENs represent species. Figure 4 a showed that in the first few months, the number of nodes in the ceftriaxone group was obviously less than that of control, thereafter it increased over time, approaching that of control. But in the 14th month obvious difference between the two groups still appeared. Therefore, the changing trend of nodes in the antibiotic group was consistent with that of Chao1 indices. The difference in average path distance (GD) between the two groups was not obvious (Fig. 4 c). The average connectivity (average links per node; average K) in the 1st and 2nd months of the ceftriaxone group was larger than that of the control, followed by an obvious downtrend until the 7th month (Fig. 4 d). Thereafter, variations of average K in the two groups exhibited similar trend with fluctuations. The connectedness (Con) in several months of ceftriaxone group was obviously lower than that of control, though the overall trend of Con in regression analysis was similar between the two groups (Fig. 4 e). Interestingly, the average clustering coefficient (the extent to which nodes are clustered, average CC) in the first 4 months of the ceftriaxone group was higher than that of the control (Fig. 4 f). Nevertheless, it manifested an overall downtrend, which was contrary to the average CC in control group.

Visualization of network parameters. A and C represent antibiotic group and control, respectively. M is short for month. Detailed parameters of network indices are shown in Table S 4 . Network parameters were regressed against time. R 2 and P values from regression analysis are shown. Detailed information on regression analysis is shown in Table S 5 . In a – k , red and blue dotted lines indicate the regression of the antibiotic group and control, respectively. h P/N means positive/negative. k Robustness determined as the proportion of taxa remained with 50% of nodes were randomly removed from each of the MENs. l Robustness was determined as the proportion of taxa remained with all module hubs removed from each of the MENs. m Heatmaps showing the relative magnitude of network indices between antibiotic group (A) and control (C). The values are represented by logFC (FC = A/C). The right half part of m shows the results of regression analysis (for the antibiotic group) with various indices against time. Connections between red nodes indicate that indices increase over time (positive), while connections between blue nodes represent that indices decrease with time (negative). For statistical analysis, normality testing was performed using the Shapiro–Wilk test. The data for robustness analysis were in accordance with normal distribution. Thus, P values of robustness_random were calculated using t -test. * P < 0.05; ** P < 0.01; *** P < 0.001

Positive correlations between nodes generally indicate cooperative connections, such as commensalism, mutualism, syntrophic interactions, and shared environmental requirements [ 26 ]. Negative associations between nodes represent competition for limiting resources, amensalism, predation, parasitism, etc. It has been demonstrated that the positive/negative (P/N) ratio (the ratio of the number of positive links to the number of negative links) can reflect the balance between promoting and inhibiting interactions among microbial species in gut microbiota and that the P/N ratio may be one of the most critical changes in a disordered microbiome [ 48 ]. The P/N ratio was much larger in diseased networks, whereas more negative links appeared in healthy microbial networks [ 48 ]. It has been shown that cooperation reduces the stability of the microbiome, whereas competition increases the stability [ 49 , 50 ]. Networks with mutually beneficial and competitive associations are more robust and stable [ 31 ]. In this study, although the overall variation trend of positive links was similar between the two groups as shown by regression analysis (Fig. 4 g), obvious differences were observed in the 1st, 4th, 5th, 8th, 9th, 10th, and 13th months. The positive associations and P/N ratio (Fig. 4 h) of the ceftriaxone group in the 1st month were obviously higher than those of the control, indicating that antibiotic exposure enhanced positive associations in the gut MENs, which might result in less robust and less stable networks in the gut microbiome. Thereafter, the P/N ratio exhibited a recovery trend, yet obvious differences were observed in the 4th, 5th, 9th, 13th, and 14th months.

Changes in network structure can further lead to variations in network organizational principles, such as modularity. Modularity reflects the extent to which a network is compartmentalized into different modules, in which the nodes within a module closely connect with each other but are less associated with nodes from other modules [ 26 ]. A network is considered to have good modularity when the modularity value is greater than 0.4. Module can be categorized into small modules (< 5 nodes) and large modules (≥ 5 nodes) [ 26 ]. All the networks we constructed had good modularity (modularity was between 0.594 and 0.848; Table S 2 ). The number of modules in the first 3 months of the antibiotic group was obviously less than that of the control (Fig. 5 a and Supplementary Figure S 5 ) but with an overall increasing trend over time ( R 2 = 0.2523, P = 0.0672). The number of modules in the antibiotic group gradually recovered to be consistent with the control across time, though in the 8th, 10th, and 12th months, the differences were obviously observed. It suggested that there were some fluctuations during the recovery process. The number of small modules in the first 3 months of the antibiotic group was obviously less than that of control. It had an overall increasing trend, recovering to approach the baseline of the control over time, but the obvious difference still appeared in the 14th month (Fig. 5 b). The number of large modules in the first 5 months of the antibiotic group was obviously less than that of control (Fig. 5 c). In the 6th, 7th, 9th, 10th and 11th months the number of large modules in the antibiotic group approached that of control. However, the recovery trend was unstable, since the number of large modules in the antibiotic group was still obviously less than that of control in the 8th, 12th, 13th, and 14th months. Similarly, the number of nodes in large modules of the antibiotic group exhibited a recovery trend post-cessation of treatment, whereas obvious differences between the two groups reappeared in the 14th month (Fig. 5 d). The abundance proportions of bacterial species in each module and the bacteria correlations within and among modules were shown in Supplementary Figure S 5 . Besides affecting the number of modules, antibiotic exposure also led to an obvious alteration of bacterial composition and their associations in MEN modules, though the composition exhibited a slight recovery trend in the last few months.

Module indices and correlations between relative modularity (RM) and other network parameters. A and C represent the antibiotic group and control, respectively. a – e Module parameters were regressed against time. R 2 and P values from regression analysis are shown. Red and blue dotted lines indicate the regression of the antibiotic group and control, respectively. f – k Red solid line and blue dashed line represent the antibiotic group and control, respectively. The Spearman correlation coefficients ( r ) are shown for the antibiotic group and control in corresponding colors. * P < 0.05; ** P < 0.01; *** P < 0.001

Since network size and connectivity vary among different MENs, relative modularity (RM) is more meaningful for comparing module structure among different networks [ 26 ]. Interestingly, RM in the first 3 months of the antibiotic group was obviously higher than that of the control (Fig. 5 e). Thereafter, RM between the two groups in the 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 11th, 12th, and 13th months was similar, respectively, while obvious differences were observed in the 8th, 9th, 10th, and 14th months, respectively. The Spearman correlation analysis showed that both the RM in the ceftriaxone group and control increased with links, average K, average CC, and Con, respectively (Fig. 5 f, h, i, and j). Interestingly, RM in the control group was positively correlated with nodes, but in the ceftriaxone group, it exhibited a negative correlation (Fig. 5 g). Both the RM in the ceftriaxone group and control decreased with GD (Fig. 5 k). These results suggested that the relationships between RM and some parameters of network structure were overall similar between the ceftriaxone group and control, though some differences existed.

The changed network complexity may lead to changes in the role of specific species within the network. Species that play key roles in shaping network structure are regarded as keystone nodes [ 30 , 51 ]. Regression analysis showed that the number of keystones in the antibiotic group manifested an overall increasing trend (Fig. 4 i). The trend seemed to recover to the baseline of control over time, though fluctuations in some months occurred. Specifically, the numbers of keystones of the antibiotic group in the 1st–7th months were obviously less than those of control, indicating that antibiotic use obviously reduced the number of key species in gut MENs. The numbers of keystones in the 8th, 9th, 10th, and 12th months were similar between the two groups. But obvious fluctuations appeared in the 11th, 13th, and 14th months. In addition, the keystones-affiliated taxa in the 1st–13th months were entirely different between the two groups, and only one keystone was shared in the 14th month (Table S 6 ). These results suggested that keystones were obviously different between the ceftriaxone group and the control and that new keystones appeared in the antibiotic group during the recovery process of network complexity. The observed differences in keystones might be a critical promoting factor in shaping different microbial network structures between the two groups.

Network vulnerability (the maximum decrease in network efficiency when deleting a single node from the network) of the ceftriaxone group was higher than that of control in most months, in particular in the first few months, as well as the 9th and 14th months (Fig. 4 j). Both the network vulnerability in these two groups manifested decreasing trend over time. Robustness (the resistance to node loss) on the basis of random species loss (robustness_random) exhibited obvious differences between the two groups in the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 7th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 13th, and 14th months (Fig. 4 k, m). Robustness based on targeted removal of keystones (robustness_targeted) exhibited fluctuations of up and down from the 1st to 8th months in the ceftriaxone group (lower than that of control in some months), thereafter it maintained at levels similar to that of control (Fig. 4 l). Collectively, these results suggested that antibiotic exposure reduced gut MEN stability in the first few months, followed by recovery trend though it didn’t entirely recover to the level of control.

In summary, most network parameters, including nodes, links, average K, average CC, number of modules, number of small modules, number of large modules, number of nodes in large modules, RM, number of keystones, positive links, P/N ratio, robustness, and vulnerability, were obviously different between two groups in the first few months. The results suggested that ceftriaxone exposure markedly changed the gut MENs, including network complexity and network stability. As time went on, the network parameters showed an overall recovery trend, whereas they didn’t entirely recover to the baseline of control, suggesting that the negative impacts of ceftriaxone use in early life on the gut MENs were long-lasting. It should be noted that the microbial diversity, network complexity, and network stability were not maintained to certain levels in the 14-month time series in the control group, with fluctuations over time. This phenomenon was consistent with reported viewpoints that the gut microbial diversity changed with age [ 42 ] and that characteristics of MENs are dynamic over time [ 26 ].

Relationship between MEN complexity and stability

Whether and how MEN complexity affects ecosystem stability has been a controversial question for many years [ 31 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 ], which remains understudied in the areas of microbial ecology [ 26 ]. Researchers found that network stability in grassland soil microbial communities under warming strongly correlated with network complexity, which was consistent with the central ecological belief that complexity leads to stability [ 26 ]. Nevertheless, this observed phenomenon might not be necessarily applicable to other ecosystems since controversial results regarding the relations between network stability and complexity have been reported [ 31 , 55 , 56 ]. To determine whether and how MEN complexity in gut microbiota under antibiotic challenge affects network stability, correlation analysis was performed between the parameters of network complexity and stability (Fig. 6 and Table S 7 ). Significant correlations were observed in antibiotic group between various complexity parameters and network stability, while the correlations with statistical significance in the control group were relatively less. Both the network robustness based on random species loss (“robustness_random”) in the antibiotic group ( r = 0.88) and the control ( r = 0.66) were positively correlated with positive links. Robustness based on targeted removal of keystones (“robustness_target”) in the antibiotic group was positively correlated with links, nodes, Con, nodes in large modules, and the number of keystones, respectively. However, no correlation with statistical significance regarding “robustness_target” in the control group was found. Vulnerability in the antibiotic group was negatively correlated with links, nodes, nodes in large modules, and the number of keystones, respectively. Vulnerability in the control group was negatively correlated with links, average K, Con, and relative modularity, respectively. These results suggested the following points. On one hand, network complexity is related to network stability in the gut microbial community, whether it is under antibiotic exposure or not. On the other hand, since the correlations between MEN complexity and stability, as well as the measurements of complexity and stability, were significantly different between the two groups, it was plausible that antibiotic-induced changes in gut MEN complexity affected the network stability. These results also supported the ecological theory that complexity begets stability [ 57 ].

Correlations between network complexity and stability. Correlations with statistical significance ( P < 0.05) are shown, with orange grids indicating positive correlations and green grids indicating negative correlations. Numbers inside the grids represent corresponding correlation coefficients. Correlations with no statistical significance are indicated by grey. Detailed information about the correlations is shown in Table S 7

Effects of antibiotic exposure on gut microbial metabolism

Metabolomics analysis showed that numerous metabolites with significant differences between the antibiotic group and the control were identified, with variations of relative content over time (Supplementary Figure S 6 ). In each month the number of metabolites detected, the number of up- and down-regulated metabolites in the antibiotic group, and the number of annotated pathways were shown in Table S 8 . The orthogonal to partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) also indicated that metabolites between the two groups were significantly different (Supplementary Figure S 7 ). At most time points the differences between two groups are larger than that within a single group. Figure 7 showed the main metabolic pathways with significant differences between the two groups, of which pathways related to amino acid metabolism (15 pathways) were the most significantly affected by antibiotic exposure. The results also showed that some pathways displayed significant differences between the two groups at most time points, suggesting that the post-antibiotic effect on these pathways was long-lasting. For instance, “biosynthesis of amino acids” displayed significant differences between the two groups at 18 time points (18/20; a total of 20 time points were detected). There were six pathways related to carbohydrate metabolism with significant differences between the two groups. Many other metabolic pathways, such as pathways related to lipid metabolism and nucleotide metabolism, also exhibited significant differences. Carbohydrate metabolism, amino acid metabolism, and lipid metabolism are three main material metabolisms. Nucleotide metabolism that involves genetic information transmission, such as DNA synthesis and RNA synthesis, is also vitally important to organisms. These results suggested the following points: (1) ceftriaxone exposure significantly impacted the metabolisms of the murine intestinal microbiota, which might lead to the occurrence of metabolic diseases if the observed results were applicable to humans; (2) the post-antibiotic effect on some gut microbial metabolic pathways was long-lasting.

Metabolic pathways with significant differences in metabolome analysis. The horizontal direction on the bottom indicates the sampling time. M is short for month. Samples from a total of 20 time points were used for metabolomics analysis. The enriched pathways were produced by annotation of differential metabolites in the KEGG database (organism group: bacteria). Pathways with differential metabolites contained in over 60% of time points (i.e., > 12 time points) are shown. The heatmap colors were generated from the GeneRatio. The GeneRatio was the ratio of the number of metabolites enriched in a specific pathway to the total number of metabolites in this pathway, with + /– values to discriminate the upregulation in the antibiotic group (red) and control (blue), respectively. The first line marked by “Down” indicates the number of metabolic pathways (blue; with significance) enriched by metabolites with higher abundances in the control group at each time point. The last line marked by “Up” indicates the number of metabolic pathways (red; with significance) enriched by metabolites with higher abundances in the antibiotic group. The rightmost column of grids marked by “corr” indicates the correlation between GeneRatio values and sampling time, with red and blue representing positive and negative correlations, respectively. In some months, some differential metabolites are not contained in specific metabolic pathways, which are represented by white grids. In other grids, red and blue indicate that the differential metabolites were in higher abundance in the antibiotic group and control, respectively. * P < 0.05; ** P < 0.01

Relationship between gut MENs and metabolome following antibiotic exposure

To determine the relation between MENs and metabolome, correlation analysis was carried out between various network parameters and the metabolic pathways with significant differences between the ceftriaxone group and control. There were 48 and 49 correlations with statistical significance in the ceftriaxone group and control, respectively (Supplementary Figure S 8 ). In the ceftriaxone group, 21 pathways contained statistically significant correlations with network parameters. Among these metabolic pathways, there were 7 pathways with significant correlations related to amino acid metabolism, including “valine, leucine, and isoleucine biosynthesis”, “phenylalanine, tyrosine, and tryptophan biosynthesis”, “valine, leucine, and isoleucine degradation”, “phenylalanine metabolism”, “tyrosine metabolism”, “taurine and hypotaurine metabolism”, and “glycine, serine, and threonine metabolism”. “Valine, leucine, and isoleucine biosynthesis” was positively correlated with total nodes and robustness_target, respectively, and was negatively correlated with average CC, robustness_random, and vulnerability, respectively. There was one pathway (galactose metabolism) with statistical significance related to carbohydrate metabolism and one pathway (biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids) related to lipid metabolism. In the control group (Supplementary Figure S 8 b), 33 pathways contained statistically significant correlations with network parameters. Among these metabolic pathways, there were 7 pathways with significant correlations related to amino acid metabolism, including “valine, leucine, and isoleucine biosynthesis”, “biosynthesis of amino acids”, “phenylalanine, tyrosine, and tryptophan biosynthesis”, “valine, leucine, and isoleucine degradation”, “glycine, serine, and threonine metabolism”, “lysine degradation”, and “cysteine and methionine metabolism”. “Valine, leucine, and isoleucine biosynthesis” was positively correlated with average CC and robustness_random, respectively, and was negatively correlated with the number of keystones. There were 7 pathways related to carbohydrate metabolism and one pathway (glycerolipid metabolism) related to lipid metabolism. Obviously, the correlations between network parameters and metabolic pathways in the two groups were different. On one hand, there was a difference in the number and type of metabolic pathways with statistical significance in the correlation analysis. On the other hand, for the same metabolic pathway, network parameters from the two groups correlated with the pathway with statistical significances were almost different. Collectively, these results suggested that the antibiotic exposure-induced changes of metabolic pathways (in particular the ones related to amino acid metabolism) in gut microbiota were related to the variations of MENs, though their causal relation remained to be investigated.

Post-antibiotic effect on gut microbial metabolic function

To further study the post-antibiotic effect, gut microbial metabolic function was predicted based on the 16S rRNA gene-sequencing data. Besides, metagenomics analysis was performed. In terms of the number of pathways with significant differences (corrected P value < 0.05) between the two groups, the 1st month (118 pathways) was the largest (Table S 9 ). The number displayed a decreasing trend in the following several months, then with fluctuation, and finally it was still greater than zero. It suggested that in the 14th month, there were still differences in microbial metabolic pathways between the two groups. More specifically, the number of dominant pathways in the control group in the 1st month was 80, which was much greater than that of the antibiotic group, suggesting that many pathways had been impaired by antibiotic exposure. The number in the control group displayed a decreasing trend in the following several months, then with fluctuation, and finally it was still greater than that of the antibiotic group in the last 3 months (Table S 9 ). Most pathways with significant differences were crucial to bacterial survival and physiological functions. Obviously, antibiotic exposure has made the gut microbiota more vulnerable. The variation trend of the number of metabolic pathways with significant differences was similar to that of microbial network parameters. For instance, the values of network vulnerability in the antibiotic group in the first few months were greater than those of control (Fig. 4 j), suggesting that antibiotic exposure made the gut microbial network more vulnerable or less stable. Afterward, the vulnerability displayed a recovery trend with fluctuation in the level of control. But it did not entirely recover. These results further indicated that the changes in gut microbial metabolism following antibiotic exposure were related to MEN variations.

As shown in Supplementary Figure S 9 , in the 1st month eight dominant pathways related to antibiotic biosynthesis were found in the control group, whereas only two pathways were dominant in the antibiotic group. Competition increases microbial network stability, whereas cooperation reduces the stability [ 49 , 50 ]. Some bacteria can secrete antibiotics to inhibit other microorganisms, which is a phenomenon of competition. The less dominant pathways related to antibiotic biosynthesis in the antibiotic group might beget reduced competition, which might reduce the microbial network stability. Indeed, the gut microbial network stability was markedly weakened post-antibiotic exposure (Fig. 4 ). Afterward, the network stability exhibited a recovery trend with fluctuations, but it did not entirely recover to the level of control. The change trend of dominant pathways related to antibiotic biosynthesis (Table S 9 ) was similar to that of the network stability.

“Xenobiotics biodegradation and metabolism” was dominant in the antibiotic group in the 1st, 9th, 11th, and 12th months post-antibiotic exposure (Supplementary Figure S 10 ). Metagenomic sequencing data also showed that this pathway was dominant in the antibiotic group in the 12th month after the cessation of antibiotic exposure (Fig. 8 a). More specifically, there were 6, 6, and 8 dominant pathways related to the degradation of organic toxicants in the antibiotic group in the 1st, 9th, and 11th months, respectively (Supplementary Figure S 9 and Table S 9 ), while the number of dominant pathways in the control was 1, 1, and 2, respectively. The relative dominance trend (Table S 9 ) was similar to the changing trend of microbial network parameters (Fig. 4 ). Generally, antibiotic treatment was a stress for gut bacteria. The stress might have caused stress reactions in a portion of bacteria, which made them resistant to external harmful factors. Thus, we observed the phenomenon that in the 1st month post-antibiotic exposure more dominant pathways related to the degradation of organic toxicants were in the antibiotic group (relative to control). The recurrence of the phenomenon in the 9th and 11th months might be caused by the long-term post-antibiotic effect, as we observed a similar effect on the microbial network. Additionally, “quorum sensing” (QS) was dominant in the 1st and 12th months in the antibiotic group (Supplementary Figure S 9 ). There was no difference between the two groups in other months. Increasing evidence shows that QS can enhance the stress response in bacteria [ 58 ]. QS is an important dependent pathway for bacterial communication [ 59 ]. The inter-species and inter-kingdom communication mediated by QS could shape the gut microbial community. Besides, it has been demonstrated that QS plays an important role in alleviating dysbiosis of the gut microbiota caused by antibiotic exposure in mice [ 60 ]. It was therefore not surprising that the enrichment of QS in the antibiotic group in the 1st month post-antibiotic treatment was observed in the present study. The enriched QS could play a role in the stress response to antibiotic exposure. The microbial network parameters (Figs. 4 and 5 ) showed that there was still slight fluctuation in the 12th month, displaying the long-term post-antibiotic effect. Since the microbial network involved inter-species and inter-kingdom communication, it was plausible that the recurrence of QS enrichment in the antibiotic group in the 12th month might be induced by the long-term post-antibiotic effect. Indeed, metagenomic sequencing data also showed that QS was relatively dominant in the antibiotic group in the 12th month (Fig. 8 b).

Abundance analysis of metabolic pathways between the antibiotic group and control based on metagenomic sequencing data. The data were from metagenomic analysis of feces samples in the 12th month after the cessation of antibiotic exposure. The data were filtered to exclude the reads from the mice. The heatmap was produced using the ComplexHeatmap in R package (version 4.2.1). The horizontal columns on the left side of each figure display the relative abundance between the two groups. A and C represent the antibiotic group and control, respectively. FC represents the ratio of abundance (A/C). a The KEGG pathways were from the level_2 category. b The KEGG pathways were from the level_3 category. Pathways ranking in the top 35 in average abundance were shown in each figure, excluding the pathways not associated with microbes

As shown in Supplementary Figure S 9 , “beta-lactam resistance” was enriched in the antibiotic group in the 9th month, and “vancomycin resistance” was dominant in the 9th and 11th months. Ceftriaxone belongs to beta-lactam antibiotics. Metagenomic sequencing data showed that “beta-lactam resistance” was relatively dominant in the antibiotic group in the 12th month (Fig. 8 b). These results suggest that there is still a risk of developing antimicrobial drug resistance even after a brief ceftriaxone exposure in early life. Interestingly, pathways belonging to “drug resistance: antineoplastic” in the antibiotic group were weakened in the 1st, 8th, 9th, and 11th months, respectively (Table S 9 ). These pathways included “platinum drug resistance” and “antifolate resistance”. It had been recently demonstrated that some gut microorganisms could overcome resistance to antitumor drugs [ 61 ]. It was plausible that ceftriaxone exposure might result in the relative enrichment of some microorganisms, and accordingly their roles in overcoming antitumor drug resistance displayed.

Changes in functional networks caused by antibiotic effect

A total of 28 time-series functional networks (Supplementary Figure S 11 and Table S 10 ) were constructed based on 16S rRNA gene-sequencing data. As shown in Table S 11 , the number of network clusters in the antibiotic group was greater than that of control in the 1st, 2nd, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, and 13th months, respectively. We compared the pathway composition of clusters (ranking in the top 3 with a score) between the two groups in each month and found that in most comparisons the number of shared pathways between two clusters from the two groups was small (Table S 12 ), indicating the difference in pathway composition of clusters between the two groups. It could be seen from Table S 11 and Figure S 11 that most clusters from the two groups contained different numbers of nodes or links, indicating the difference in the topology structure of functional networks. Additionally, we constructed functional networks (Supplementary Figure S 12 and Table S 13 ) based on metagenomic sequencing data from the 12th-month samples. The number of network clusters in the antibiotic group was smaller than that of the control (Table S 14 ), which was consistent with the functional network result (the 12th month; Table S 11 ) based on the 16S rRNA gene-sequencing data. Some clusters from the two groups also contained different numbers of nodes or edges (links). Analysis of shared pathways between arbitrary two clusters (ranking in the top 3) from the two groups showed that there were differences in pathway composition among the clusters (Table S 15 ). Thus, the topological structure of functional networks from the antibiotic group and control group was obviously different (Supplementary Figure S 13 ). Collectively, these results suggested that ceftriaxone treatment caused changes in functional networks, including the variations of network topology, the number of network clusters, and the pathway composition of clusters. The ceftriaxone effect on gut microbial functional networks in C57BL/6 mice was long-lasting.

Microorganisms in gut microbiota are interconnected, with complicated associations that can be represented by MENs [ 47 ]. Gut microbial dysbiosis may lead to the occurrence of various diseases, such as metabolic diseases [ 42 ]. Antibiotic exposure is not uncommon, which can be found in medical settings and from environmental sources. Thus, great concern should be raised about antibiotic exposure. Since this study showed that the antibiotic exposure-induced changes of gut MENs were long-lasting and that the MEN variations were associated with microbial metabolism changes, we propose that restoration of the gut MENs is critically important for the treatment of disorders and diseases caused by antibiotic exposure, such as metabolic diseases.

Ceftriaxone, a β-lactam antibiotic with comparable activities against medically important pathogens, belongs to third-generation cephalosporins and is commonly applied to clinical practice [ 62 ]. Ceftriaxone-induced intestinal dysbacteriosis is a focus of research and a growing health concern [ 63 ]. In terms of application, ceftriaxone can be administrated via intraperitoneal injection [ 64 ], gavage [ 21 ], subcutaneous injection [ 65 ], intravenous injection [ 66 ], aerosol inhalation delivery [ 67 ], and intramuscular injection [ 68 ], among which intravenous injection and intramuscular injection are two typical administration methods in clinical treatment. In this study, we adopted gavage administration referring to the practice of many researchers who administered ceftriaxone orally to mouse models [ 21 , 22 , 23 ]. Ceftriaxone, soluble in water, is not easily absorbed by the intestine. Gavage administration of ceftriaxone to mice contributes to observing the drug’s direct impacts on the gut microbiota. A prospective cohort study, using different methods of antibiotic administration, and using different antibiotics can be conducted for further studying the effects of antibiotics on the molecular ecological networks and metabolism in gut microbiota. Results from these researches might provide more new discoveries and provide more guidance for antibiotic use.

In summary, this study provides new and deep insights into the long-term effects of brief antibiotic exposure in early life on mice’s gut microbial diversity, MENs, and metabolism. Antibiotic use in early life caused significant changes in microbial diversity, metabolism as well as MEN complexity and stability. Changes in network complexity have affected network stability. Antibiotic-induced differences in gut microbial metabolism were related to MEN variations. Post cessation of antibiotic treatment, the microbial diversity and MENs exhibited a recovery trend, but they didn’t entirely recover to the levels of control, suggesting that the negative impacts of antibiotics on gut microbial diversity and MENs were long-lasting. Antibiotic treatment also caused long-term effects on gut microbial functional networks in mice. Therefore, great concern should be raised about children’s brief exposure to antibiotics if the results observed in mice are applicable to humans.

Availability of data and materials

Raw sequences of 16S rRNA gene sequencing were deposited in the Sequence Read Archive (SRA) under accession number PRJNA863425. The metagenomic sequencing data had been deposited in the China National Center for Bioinformation under accession number PRJCA019236.

Chai G, Governale L, McMahon AW, Trinidad JP, Staffa J, Murphy D. Trends of outpatient prescription drug utilization in US children, 2002–2010. Pediatrics. 2012;130(1):23–31.

Article PubMed Google Scholar

Fàbrega A, Sánchez-Céspedes J, Soto S, Vila J. Quinolone resistance in the food chain. Int J Antimicrob Agents. 2008;31(4):307–15.

Gonzalez Ronquillo M, Angeles Hernandez JC. Antibiotic and synthetic growth promoters in animal diets: review of impact and analytical methods. Food Control. 2016;72:255–67.

Article Google Scholar

Xu H, Chen Z, Wu X, Zhao L, Wang N, Mao D, Ren H, Luo Y. Antibiotic contamination amplifies the impact of foreign antibiotic-resistant bacteria on soil bacterial community. Sci Total Environ. 2021;758:143693.

Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar

Ding D, Wang B, Zhang X, Zhang J, Zhang H, Liu X, Gao Z, Yu Z. The spread of antibiotic resistance to humans and potential protection strategies. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf. 2023;254:114734.

Kelbrick M, Hesse E, O’ Brien S. Cultivating antimicrobial resistance: how intensive agriculture ploughs the way for antibiotic resistance. Microbiology. 2023;169(8):001384.

Article CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar

Marshall BM, Levy SB. Food animals and antimicrobials: impacts on human health. Clin Microbiol Rev. 2011;24(4):718–33.

Verraes C, Van Boxstael S, Van Meervenne E, Van Coillie E, Butaye P, Catry B, de Schaetzen MA, Van Huffel X, Imberechts H, Dierick K, et al. Antimicrobial resistance in the food chain: a review. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2013;10(7):2643–69.

Article PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar

Depoorter P, Persoons D, Uyttendaele M, Butaye P, De Zutter L, Dierick K, Herman L, Imberechts H, Van Huffel X, Dewulf J. Assessment of human exposure to 3rd generation cephalosporin resistant E. coli (CREC) through consumption of broiler meat in Belgium. Int J Food Microbiol. 2012;159(1):30–8.

Girijan SK, Paul R, V JR, Pillai D. Investigating the impact of hospital antibiotic usage on aquatic environment and aquaculture systems: a molecular study of quinolone resistance in Escherichia coli . Sci Total Environ. 2020;748:141538.

Bell BG, Schellevis F, Stobberingh E, Goossens H, Pringle M. A systematic review and meta-analysis of the effects of antibiotic consumption on antibiotic resistance. BMC Infect Dis. 2014;14:13.

Sturkenboom MC, Verhamme KM, Nicolosi A, Murray ML, Neubert A, Caudri D, Picelli G, Sen EF, Giaquinto C, Cantarutti L, et al. Drug use in children: cohort study in three European countries. BMJ. 2008;337:a2245.

Mamieva Z, Poluektova E, Svistushkin V, Sobolev V, Shifrin O, Guarner F, Ivashkin V. Antibiotics, gut microbiota, and irritable bowel syndrome: What are the relations? World J Gastroenterol. 2022;28(12):1204–19.

Blaser MJ. Antibiotic use and its consequences for the normal microbiome. Science. 2016;352(6285):544–5.

Shamriz O, Mizrahi H, Werbner M, Shoenfeld Y, Avni O, Koren O. Microbiota at the crossroads of autoimmunity. Autoimmun Rev. 2016;15(9):859–69.

Mahana D, Trent CM, Kurtz ZD, Bokulich NA, Battaglia T, Chung J, Müller CL, Li H, Bonneau RA, Blaser MJ. Antibiotic perturbation of the murine gut microbiome enhances the adiposity, insulin resistance, and liver disease associated with high-fat diet. Genome Med. 2016;8(1):48.

Bokulich NA, Chung J, Battaglia T, Henderson N, Jay M, Li H, D. Lieber A, Wu F, Perez-Perez GI, Chen Y, et al. Antibiotics, birth mode, and diet shape microbiome maturation during early life. Sci Transl Med. 2016;8(343):343ra382.

Diamond B, Huerta PT, Tracey K, Volpe BT. It takes guts to grow a brain: Increasing evidence of the important role of the intestinal microflora in neuro- and immune-modulatory functions during development and adulthood. BioEssays. 2011;33(8):588–91.

Diaz Heijtz R, Wang S, Anuar F, Qian Y, Björkholm B, Samuelsson A, Hibberd ML, Forssberg H, Pettersson S. Normal gut microbiota modulates brain development and behavior. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2011;108(7):3047–52.

Limbu SM, Ma Q, Zhang ML, Du ZY. High fat diet worsens the adverse effects of antibiotic on intestinal health in juvenile Nile tilapia ( Oreochromis niloticus ). Sci Total Environ. 2019;680:169–80.

Li Y, Liu M, Liu H, Sui X, Liu Y, Wei X, Liu C, Cheng Y, Ye W, Gao B, et al. The anti-inflammatory effect and mucosal barrier protection of Clostridium butyricum RH2 in ceftriaxone-induced intestinal dysbacteriosis. Front Cell Infect Microbiol. 2021;11:647048.

Guo Y, Yang X, Qi Y, Wen S, Liu Y, Tang S, Huang R, Tang L. Long-term use of ceftriaxone sodium induced changes in gut microbiota and immune system. Sci Rep. 2017;7:43035.

Yang N, Lan T, Han Y, Zhao H, Wang C, Xu Z, Chen Z, Tao M, Li H, Song Y, et al. Tributyrin alleviates gut microbiota dysbiosis to repair intestinal damage in antibiotic-treated mice. PLoS ONE. 2023;18(7):e0289364.

Bolyen E, Rideout JR, Dillon MR, Bokulich NA, Abnet CC, Al-Ghalith GA, Alexander H, Alm EJ, Arumugam M, Asnicar F, et al. Reproducible, interactive, scalable and extensible microbiome data science using QIIME 2. Nat Biotechnol. 2019;37(8):852–7.

Callahan BJ, McMurdie PJ, Rosen MJ, Han AW, Johnson AJ, Holmes SP. DADA2: high-resolution sample inference from Illumina amplicon data. Nat Methods. 2016;13(7):581–3.

Yuan MM, Guo X, Wu L, Zhang Y, Xiao N, Ning D, Shi Z, Zhou X, Wu L, Yang Y, et al. Climate warming enhances microbial network complexity and stability. Nat Clim Chang. 2021;11(4):343–8.

Deng Y, Jiang YH, Yang Y, He Z, Luo F, Zhou J. Molecular ecological network analyses. BMC Bioinformatics. 2012;13:113.

Zhou J, Deng Y, Luo F, He Z, Tu Q, Zhi X. Functional molecular ecological networks. mBio. 2010;1(4):e00169–10.

Luo F, Yang Y, Zhong J, Gao H, Khan L, Thompson DK, Zhou J. Constructing gene co-expression networks and predicting functions of unknown genes by random matrix theory. BMC Bioinformatics. 2007;8:299.

Röttjers L, Faust K. Can we predict keystones? Nat Rev Microbiol. 2019;17(3):193.

Montesinos-Navarro A, Hiraldo F, Tella JL, Blanco G. Network structure embracing mutualism-antagonism continuums increases community robustness. Nat Ecol Evol. 2017;1(11):1661–9.

Yang Y, Misra BB, Liang L, Bi D, Weng W, Wu W, Cai S, Qin H, Goel A, Li X, et al. Integrated microbiome and metabolome analysis reveals a novel interplay between commensal bacteria and metabolites in colorectal cancer. Theranostics. 2019;9(14):4101–14.

Bolger AM, Lohse M, Usadel B. Trimmomatic: a flexible trimmer for Illumina sequence data. Bioinformatics. 2014;30(15):2114–20.

Li H, Durbin R. Fast and accurate short read alignment with Burrows-Wheeler transform. Bioinformatics. 2009;25(14):1754–60.

Hyatt D, Chen GL, Locascio PF, Land ML, Larimer FW, Hauser LJ. Prodigal: prokaryotic gene recognition and translation initiation site identification. BMC Bioinformatics. 2010;11:119.

Steinegger M, Söding J. MMseqs2 enables sensitive protein sequence searching for the analysis of massive data sets. Nat Biotechnol. 2017;35(11):1026–8.

Chaora NS, Khanyile KS, Magwedere K, Pierneef R, Tabit FT, Muchadeyi FC. A 16S next generation sequencing based molecular and bioinformatics pipeline to identify processed meat products contamination and mislabelling. Animals (Basel). 2022;12(4):416.

Truong DT, Franzosa EA, Tickle TL, Scholz M, Weingart G, Pasolli E, Tett A, Huttenhower C, Segata N. MetaPhlAn2 for enhanced metagenomic taxonomic profiling. Nat Methods. 2015;12(10):902–3.

Shannon P, Markiel A, Ozier O, Baliga NS, Wang JT, Ramage D, Amin N, Schwikowski B, Ideker T. Cytoscape: a software environment for integrated models of biomolecular interaction networks. Genome Res. 2003;13(11):2498–504.

Shin NR, Whon TW, Bae JW. Proteobacteria: microbial signature of dysbiosis in gut microbiota. Trends Biotechnol. 2015;33(9):496–503.

Ryu BH, Hong J, Jung J, Kim MJ, Sung H, Kim MN, Chong YP, Kim SH, Lee SO, Kim YS, et al. Clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes of Enterococcus durans bacteremia: a 20-year experience in a tertiary care hospital. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis. 2019;38(9):1743–51.

Ramirez J, Guarner F, Bustos Fernandez L, Maruy A, Sdepanian VL, Cohen H. Antibiotics as major disruptors of gut microbiota. Front Cell Infect Microbiol. 2020;10:572912.

Dethlefsen L, Relman DA. Incomplete recovery and individualized responses of the human distal gut microbiota to repeated antibiotic perturbation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2011;108 Suppl 1(Suppl 1):4554–61.

Zaura E, Brandt BW, Teixeira de Mattos MJ, Buijs MJ, Caspers MP, Rashid MU, et al. Same exposure but two radically different responses to antibiotics: resilience of the salivary microbiome versus long-term microbial shifts in feces. mBio. 2015;6(6):e01693–15.

Shaw LP, Bassam H, Barnes CP, Walker AS, Klein N, Balloux F. Modelling microbiome recovery after antibiotics using a stability landscape framework. ISME J. 2019;13(7):1845–56.

Lloyd-Price J, Abu-Ali G, Huttenhower C. The healthy human microbiome. Genome Med. 2016;8(1):51.

Pržulj N, Malod-Dognin N. Network analytics in the age of big data. Science. 2016;353(6295):123–4.

Ma ZS. The P/N (positive-to-negative links) ratio in complex networks—A promising in silico biomarker for detecting changes occurring in the human microbiome. Microb Ecol. 2018;75(4):1063–73.

Coyte KZ, Schluter J, Foster KR. The ecology of the microbiome: networks, competition, and stability. Science. 2015;350(6261):663–6.

Layeghifard M, Hwang DM, Guttman DS. Disentangling interactions in the microbiome: a network perspective. Trends Microbiol. 2017;25(3):217–28.

Banerjee S, Schlaeppi K, van der Heijden MGA. Keystone taxa as drivers of microbiome structure and functioning. Nat Rev Microbiol. 2018;16(9):567–76.

Hillebrand H, Langenheder S, Lebret K, Lindström E, Östman Ö, Striebel M. Decomposing multiple dimensions of stability in global change experiments. Ecol Lett. 2018;21(1):21–30.

Montoya JM, Pimm SL, Solé RV. Ecological networks and their fragility. Nature. 2006;442(7100):259–64.

Landi P, Minoarivelo HO, Brännström Å, Hui C, Dieckmann U. Complexity and stability of ecological networks: a review of the theory. Popul Ecol. 2018;60:319–45.

Ullah H, Nagelkerken I, Goldenberg SU, Fordham DA. Climate change could drive marine food web collapse through altered trophic flows and cyanobacterial proliferation. PLoS Biol. 2018;16(1):e2003446.

Toju H, Yamamichi M, Guimarães PR Jr, Olesen JM, Mougi A, Yoshida T, Thompson JN. Species-rich networks and eco-evolutionary synthesis at the metacommunity level. Nat Ecol Evol. 2017;1(2):24.

MacArthur R. Fluctuations of animal populations and a measure of community stability. Ecology. 1955;36(3):533–6.

Joelsson A, Kan B, Zhu J. Quorum sensing enhances the stress response in Vibrio cholerae . Appl Environ Microbiol. 2007;73(11):3742–6.

Zhang Y, Ma N, Tan P, Ma X. Quorum sensing mediates gut bacterial communication and host-microbiota interaction. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2022:1–13. https://doi.org/10.1080/10408398.2022.2134981 .

Bäumler AJ, Sperandio V. Interactions between the microbiota and pathogenic bacteria in the gut. Nature. 2016;535(7610):85–93.

Davar D, Dzutsev AK, McCulloch JA, Rodrigues RR, Chauvin JM, Morrison RM, Deblasio RN, Menna C, Ding Q, Pagliano O, et al. Fecal microbiota transplant overcomes resistance to anti-PD-1 therapy in melanoma patients. Science. 2021;371(6529):595–602.

Ruiz J, Gordon M, Villarreal E, Frasquet J, Sánchez M, Martín M, Castellanos Á, Ramirez P. Influence of antibiotic pressure on multi-drug resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae colonisation in critically ill patients. Antimicrob Resist Infect Control. 2019;8:38.

Lama A, Annunziata C, Coretti L, Pirozzi C, Di Guida F, NitratoIzzo A, Cristiano C, Mollica MP, Chiariotti L, Pelagalli A, et al. N-(1-carbamoyl-2-phenylethyl) butyramide reduces antibiotic-induced intestinal injury, innate immune activation and modulates microbiota composition. Sci Rep. 2019;9(1):4832.

Zhou X, Lu J, Wei K, Wei J, Tian P, Yue M, Wang Y, Hong D, Li F, Wang B, et al. Neuroprotective effect of ceftriaxone on MPTP-induced Parkinson’s disease mouse model by regulating inflammation and intestinal microbiota. Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2021;2021:9424582.

Grégoire M, Berteau F, Bellouard R, Lebastard Q, Aubert P, Gonzales J, Javaudin F, Bessard A, Bemer P, Batard É, et al. A murine model to study the gut bacteria parameters during complex antibiotics like cefotaxime and ceftriaxone treatment. Comput Struct Biotechnol J. 2021;19:1423–30.

Agunbiade A, Routsolias JC, Rizvanolli L, Bleifuss W, Sundaresan S, Moskoff J. The effects of ceftriaxone by intravenous push on adverse drug reactions in the emergency department. Am J Emerg Med. 2021;43:245–8.

Valiulin SV, Onischuk AA, Baklanov AM, An’kov SV, Dubtsov SN, Alekseev AA, Shkil NN, Nefedova EV, Plokhotnichenko ME, Tolstikova TG, et al. Aerosol inhalation delivery of ceftriaxone in mice: generation procedure, pharmacokinetics, and therapeutic outcome. Antibiotics (Basel). 2022;11(10):1305.

Mohamed D, Kamal M. Enhanced HPLC-MS/MS method for the quantitative determination of the co-administered drugs ceftriaxone sodium and lidocaine hydrochloride in human plasma following an intramuscular injection and application to a pharmacokinetic study. Biomed Chromatogr. 2018;32(10):e4322.

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank Dongbin Wang for the submission of metagenomic sequencing data, thank Xiaoting Zhong for the animal experiment, and thank Yingying Shi, Shizhen Liu, and Jinlin Li for the sample preparation for metabolomics analysis.

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 82273757), the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province (No. 2023B1515020106), the Special Project in Key Areas of Ordinary Higher University of Guangdong Province (No. 2022ZDZX4116), and the Science and Technology Planning Project of Basic and Theoretical Scientific Research of Jiangmen City (No. 126).

Author information

Yuehui Hong and Hao Li contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

Dongguan Key Laboratory of Public Health Laboratory Science, The First Dongguan Affiliated Hospital, School of Public Health, Guangdong Medical University, Dongguan, 523808, China

Yuehui Hong, Hao Li, Linkang Chen, Hongtian Su, Bin Zhang, Yu Luo, Chengji Li, Zuguo Zhao & Lianxian Guo

Jiangmen Key Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine Ingredients and Their Mechanisms of Action, Guangdong Jiangmen Chinese Medicine College, Jiangmen, 529000, China

Yuehui Hong

Dongguan Key Laboratory of Sepsis Translational Medicine, The First Dongguan Affiliated Hospital, Guangdong Medical University, Dongguan, 523808, China

Yiming Shao

You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

L.G. contributed to the study design. L.C., L.G., H.L., Y.H., and Y.S. contributed to data interpretation. B.Z., Y.L., and C.L. contributed to sample processing, assay development and performing experiments. H.L. and H.S. contributed to statistical analysis and data visualization. Y.H., H.L., and L.G. drafted the manuscript. L.G. and Z.Z. revised the manuscript. L.G., Y.S., and Y.H. provided supervision. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Yiming Shao or Lianxian Guo .

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval and consent to participate.

This study was approved by the Animal Care and Use Committee of the Laboratory Animal Science Institute of Guangdong Medical University.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher’s note.

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Supplementary Information

Additional file 1..

Research ethics approval.

Additional file 2: Supplementary Figure S1.

Weight changes of mice over time. Triangles and solid dots indicate the mean weight of mice. A and C represent antibiotic group and control, respectively. The middle of boxplot represents median; the top and the bottom of a box represent upper quartile and lower quartile, respectively; bars at the top and the bottom show the maximum and minimum, respectively, after excluding the abnormal values. Antibiotic group and control are shown in red and blue, respectively. Hollow circles indicate the abnormal values. Day 0 means the endpoint of 8-day antibiotic treatment. For statistical analysis, normality test and homogeneity test of variance were performed. If it met the parameter test conditions, t -test was performed; otherwise, the Wilcoxon rank sum test was carried out. * P < 0.05 indicates statistic difference. Figure S2. Rarefaction curves in microbial diversity analysis. A and C represent antibiotic group and control, respectively. M is short for month. Figure S3. Alluvial diagrams of species composition across time. The data are from 16S rRNA gene sequencing. A and C represent antibiotic group and control, respectively. The figures were produced using the R package (version 4.1.2). Each column indicates species composition proportion. In b the top 20 genera with relative abundance are shown. Other genera not ranking in the top 20 are combined and named as “other”. Figure S4. Species difference analysis at the genus level using the ALDEx2 tool. The data are from 16S rRNA gene sequencing. A and C represent antibiotic group and control, respectively. M is short for month. The screening criteria of differential species are as follows: absolute value of “Effect” > 1; FDR < 0.05. Only the 1st (a), 2nd (b), 3rd (c), and 7th (d) months contain differential species at the genus level. Figure S5. Visualization of network modules. The data analysis is based on 16S rRNA gene sequencing. A and C represent antibiotic group and control, respectively. M is short for month. The number of modules, nodes, links, and positive links are shown. The left side of each panel shows the schematic diagram of each module, while the right side (pie chart) shows the microbial composition (at the phylum level) of each corresponding module. Pie charts show the modules with > 10 nodes. Nodes with different colors in the modules represent different microbes at the phylum level. Module hubs and connectors are shown in the modules. Green line and yellow line indicate positive and negative associations, respectively. Figure S6. Differential metabolites identified by metabolomics analysis. Horizontal direction indicates sampling time. M is short for month. FC is short for fold change (A/C, where A and C represent antibiotic group and control, respectively). Grids from the last column indicate the correlation between FC values of differential metabolites and sampling time, with red and blue representing positive and negative correlations, respectively. In other grids, red and blue indicate the differential metabolite with higher abundance in antibiotic group and control, respectively. The Arabic numbers in the first (marked by “Up”) and last (marked by “Down”) lines represent the number of up-regulated and down-regulated metabolites at each time point, respectively. * P < 0.05; ** P < 0.01. Figure S7. Differential analysis of metabolites between ceftriaxone group and control. The analysis was performed using the orthogonal to partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA). a Samples from antibiotic group and control are represented by red and blue, respectively. Horizontal direction indicates the differences between groups, and longitudinal direction represents the differences within a single group. b r < 0 indicates that the difference between groups is less than the difference within a single group; r > 0 indicates that the difference between groups is larger than the difference within a single group.

Additional file 3: Supplementary Figure S8.

Correlations between network parameters and metabolic pathways with significant differences. The network parameters are from the data of microbial MENs. Correlations for antibiotic group and control are shown in a and b, respectively. The enriched pathways were produced by annotation of differential metabolites in the KEGG database (organism group: bacteria). The correlations were carried out between –lg( P value of pathway enrichment) and network parameters, generating correlation coefficients and corresponding P values. Red and blue represent positive and negative correlations, respectively. avgK, average K; avgCC, average clustering coefficient; Con, connectedness; GD, average path distance. * P < 0.05; ** P < 0.01.

Additional file 4: Supplementary Figure S9.

Metabolic function prediction on KEGG level_3 category based on the data of 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The metabolic function potential of microbial communities was predicted using the Tax4fun2 in R package and the STAMP software. A and C represent antibiotic group and control, respectively. 1M means the 1st month, and so on. Pathways with corrected P values less than or equal to 0.05 are shown.

Additional file 5: Supplementary Figure S10.

Metabolic function prediction on KEGG level_2 category based on the data of 16S rRNA gene sequencing. A and C represent antibiotic group and control, respectively. 1M means the 1st month, and so on. Pathways with corrected P values less than or equal to 0.05 are shown. There is not any pathway with significant difference in the 5th or 10th month.

Additional file 6: Supplementary Figure S11.

Functional networks based on the 16S rRNA gene-sequencing data. A and C represent antibiotic group and control, respectively. Pathways and the correlation between pathways are represented by nodes and links, respectively. In each subfigure different subnetworks are represented by different colors. Yet, it does not mean that in groups A and C the same colour indicate the same subnetwork. The unclustered pathways are displayed in the grid layout.

Additional file 7: Supplementary Figure S12.

Functional networks based on metagenomic sequencing data from the 12th month samples. A and C represent antibiotic group and control, respectively. Pathways and the correlation between pathways are represented by nodes and edges, respectively. The metabolic pathways were annotated at the level_3 categories in the KEGG database. In each subfigure different subnetworks are represented by different colors. Yet, it does not mean that in groups A and C the same colour indicate the same subnetwork. The unclustered pathways are displayed in the grid layout.

Additional file 8: Supplementary Figure S13.

Functional networks constructed using KO number (protein/enzyme) and the correlation between KO as nodes and edges (links), respectively. The networks were constructed based on metagenomic sequencing data. Core subnetworks were extracted mainly based on the following parameters: degree cutoff 2; K-core 5; Max. depth 100. A and C represent antibiotic group and control, respectively. In each subfigure different subnetworks are represented by different colors.

Additional file 9: Table S1.

Dissimilarity comparison of microbial diversities between antibiotic group and control.

Additional file 10: Table S2.

Parameters of empirical networks.

Additional file 11: Table S3.

Comparisons between empirical MENs and random MENs.

Additional file 12: Table S4.

Detailed information of network indices for plotting of heatmap.

Additional file 13: Table S5.

Regression analysis of network indices against time.

Additional file 14: Table S6.

Keystones in antibiotic group and control in each month.

Additional file 15: Table S7.

Detailed information of correlations between network complexity and stability.

Additional file 16: Table S8.

The number of identified metabolites and pathways in metabolomics analysis.

Additional file 17: Table S9.

The discussed pathways with significant difference between two groups.

Additional file 18: Table S10.

Detailed information of functional networks based on the 16S rRNA gene-sequencing data.

Additional file 19: Table S11.

Statistics of functional networks based on 16S rRNA gene-sequencing data.

Additional file 20: Table S12.

Shared pathways between two clusters from antibiotic group and control.

Additional file 21: Table S13.

Detailed information of functional networks based on the metagenomic sequencing data.

Additional file 22: Table S14.

Statistics of functional networks based on metagenomic sequencing data.

Additional file 23: Table S15.

Shared pathways between two clusters from antibiotic group and control based on metagenomic sequencing data.

Rights and permissions

Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver ( http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/ ) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated in a credit line to the data.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article.

Hong, Y., Li, H., Chen, L. et al. Short-term exposure to antibiotics begets long-term disturbance in gut microbial metabolism and molecular ecological networks. Microbiome 12 , 80 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40168-024-01795-z

Download citation

Received : 26 August 2023

Accepted : 14 March 2024

Published : 07 May 2024

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1186/s40168-024-01795-z

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

Molecular ecological network
Gut microbiota
Microbial diversity
Metabolomics
Metagenomics

ISSN: 2049-2618

General enquiries: [email protected]

IMAGES

Short Autobiography
🏷️ Example essay about yourself for college. Describe Yourself Essay Samples. 2022-10-29
AN EXAMPLE OF A SHORT AUTOBIOGRAPHY.docx
Download Autobiography Template 33
Download Autobiography Template 17
40 Autobiography Examples ( + Autobiographical Essay Templates)

VIDEO

My Story
Moving Forward
Autobiography of "A Brick"||A short autobiography of A Brick||Autobiography||آپ بیتی
this is my autobiography# trending#short video 🤗
WCC's Student Life
A short Autobiography of Shri P.R Sarkar

COMMENTS

Autobiography Definition, Examples, and Writing Guide
Autobiography Definition, Examples, and Writing Guide. Written by MasterClass. Last updated: Aug 26, 2022 • 6 min read. As a firsthand account of the author's own life, an autobiography offers readers an unmatched level of intimacy. Learn how to write your first autobiography with examples from MasterClass instructors.
15 Best Autobiographies Everyone Should Read At Least Once
Here're some of the best autobiographies for your perusal. 1. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin by Benjamin Franklin. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin by Benjamin Franklin. $7.37. Understand Benjamin Franklin's past even if you did not live it. Read Now. Lifehack is reader-supported.
18 Essay-Length Short Memoirs to Read Online on Your Lunch Break
Harrison Scott Key, "My Dad Tried to Kill Me with an Alligator". This personal essay is a tongue-in-cheek story about the author's run-in with an alligator on the Pearl River in Mississippi. Looking back on the event as an adult, Key considers his father's tendencies in light of his own, now that he himself is a dad.
"A Short Autobiography," by F. Scott Fitzgerald
A Short Autobiography. By F. Scott Fitzgerald. May 17, 1929. (W ITH A CKNOWLEDGEMENTS TO N ATHAN) 1913. Photograph by Hulton Archive / Getty. The four defiant Canadian Club whiskeys at the ...
What Is an Autobiography? (And How to Write Yours)
The word autobiography literally means SELF (auto), LIFE (bio), WRITING (graph). Or, in other words, an autobiography is the story of someone's life written or otherwise told by that person. When writing your autobiography, find out what makes your family or your experience unique and build a narrative around that.
Autobiography Definition, Examples, and Writing Guide
The purpose will define the theme of your autobiography. 2. Origin. Write the first paragraph about how you came into this world. Assemble the basic information about where you were born, when and to whom. Find out where you first lived, how your parents earned a living and more information about your first year of life. 3.
A short autobiography : Fitzgerald, F. Scott (Francis Scott), 1896-1940
A short autobiography by Fitzgerald, F. Scott (Francis Scott), 1896-1940. ... Language English. xiii, 204 p. ; 21 cm A revelatory anthology of 19 personal essays and articles by the 20th-century literary master spans his career and includes a 1920 article written shortly after This Side of Paradise made him famous and a 1940 assessment of the ...
Autobiography
The emergence of autobiography. There are but few and scattered examples of autobiographical literature in antiquity and the Middle Ages. In the 2nd century bce the Chinese classical historian Sima Qian included a brief account of himself in the Shiji ("Historical Records"). It may be stretching a point to include, from the 1st century bce, the letters of Cicero (or, in the early Christian ...
Autobiography: A Very Short Introduction
The term 'autobiography' (coined at the close of the 18th century) breaks down into its component parts—'auto' (self), 'bios' (life), 'graphein' (writing). The element of writing or text is inscribed in the term itself. Language, as well as the workings of memory, shapes the past. The neologism autobiography has been followed ...
Autobiography: A Very Short Introduction
These personal writings provide an understanding of the ways in which lives have been lived, and the most fundamental accounts of what it means to be a self in the world. Autobiography: A Very Short Introduction defines what is meant by 'autobiography', and considers its relationship with similar literary forms such as memoirs, journals ...
Autobiography: definition and examples
For the full article, see autobiography . autobiography, Biography of oneself narrated by oneself. Little autobiographical literature exists from antiquity and the Middle Ages; with a handful of exceptions, the form begins to appear only in the 15th century. Autobiographical works take many forms, from intimate writings made during life that ...
Albert Einstein
Summarize This Article Albert Einstein (born March 14, 1879, Ulm, Württemberg, Germany—died April 18, 1955, Princeton, New Jersey, U.S.) was a German-born physicist who developed the special and general theories of relativity and won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1921 for his explanation of the photoelectric effect.Einstein is generally considered the most influential physicist of the 20th ...
Biography: Maya Angelou
Poet, dancer, singer, activist, and scholar Maya Angelou was a world-famous author. She was best known for her unique and pioneering autobiographical writing style. On April 4, 1928, Marguerite Ann Johnson, known to the world as Maya Angelou, was born in St. Louis, Missouri. Due to her parents' tumultuous marriage and subsequent divorce ...
How to Write a Biography: 6 Tips for Writing Biographical Texts
See why leading organizations rely on MasterClass for learning & development. Biographies are how we learn information about another human being's life. Whether you want to start writing a biography about a famous person, historical figure, or an influential family member, it's important to know all the elements that make a biography worth ...
How to Write a Short Autobiography
Although these steps are intended to be taken in sequential order, there are no set rules for the structure of a bio. Write what comes naturally to you and conveys the key points you need to make. #1. Start with a simple introduction for your short autobiography. You'll want to speak about yourself in the third person, but it doesn't have ...
How to Write a Short Bio: Templates, Examples
Selecting the Tone for Your Short Bio. Selecting the right tone for your short bio is crucial to portraying yourself in the way you want to be perceived. Consider the context in which the bio will be read and choose a tone accordingly. There are two main tones you can adopt: formal and casual. Part 3 Example of a Formal Short Bio
How to Write a Short Bio: 7 Things to Put in Your Bio
Instructors. Whether for your company's website or your own personal use, it's important to know how to write a short bio about yourself and your personal accomplishments. These little blurbs help you stand out from the crowd by showing what makes you a unique and qualified addition to the workforce.
How To Write a Professional Short Bio (With Examples)
Here are some steps you can follow to help you write a successful short bio: 1. Choose a voice. The first step in writing a short bio is deciding on a voice. For our purposes, choosing a voice involves deciding whether you are writing in the first or third person. Writing in the first person means using the words "I" and "me", and writing in ...
Autobiography: A Very Short Introduction. By Laura Marcus (Oxford
PDF | Philipp Reisner reviews Laura Marcus's Autobiography: A Very Short Introduction (2018) | Find, read and cite all the research you need on ResearchGate
Autobiography
An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written biography of one's own life. Definition. The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English periodical The Monthly Review, when he suggested the word as a hybrid, but condemned it as "pedantic".
How To Write A Good Academic Biography
Don't divulge details beyond your current position. In a longer bio of multiple paragraphs, you may add more awards and information about your master's and bachelor's degrees, but not in a short bio. Moreover, don't add anything that happened before grad school—including your place of birth. For example: Hi!
The Best Short Professional Bios (Examples + Templates)
Your short bio should include your brand, your accomplishments, and your values and goals. Your short bio should be one to three short paragraphs or four to eight sentences long. Knowing how to write a concise, informative, and interesting biography about yourself can help throughout various parts of the professional process.
27 of the Best Professional Bio Examples I've Ever Seen [+ Templates]
Lisa gets creative by mentioning the brands she's worked with and highlighting some of her favorite projects. Written in the third person, this bio invites the reader behind a metaphorical door to meet Lisa as a professional, traveler, learner, wife, and mother. 11. Nancy Twine: Hair Care Founder.
Short-term exposure to antibiotics begets long-term disturbance in gut
Background Antibiotic exposure can occur in medical settings and from environmental sources. Long-term effects of brief antibiotic exposure in early life are largely unknown. Results Post a short-term treatment by ceftriaxone to C57BL/6 mice in early life, a 14-month observation was performed using 16S rRNA gene-sequencing technique, metabolomics analysis, and metagenomics analysis on the ...