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Study Suggests Gut Bacteria Co-Evolved With Humans Over Millennia
Confirmed
In Short: Researchers have found that gut bacteria have co-evolved with humans, traveling with them across continents over millennia, according to a study published in Nature.
Researchers have found that gut bacteria have co-evolved with humans, traveling with them across continents over millennia, according to a study published in Nature.
The study, led by Justin Sonnenburg, a professor of microbiology and immunology at Stanford University, examined stool samples from the Hadza hunter-gatherers in Tanzania and the Tsimane forager-farmers in the Bolivian Amazon.
Sonnenburg and his team discovered that despite the geographical separation of these two groups, they share over 1,200 bacterial species, nearly 90% of which were identified in the highly diverse Tsimane microbiomes.
"If we were inhabited by very similar microbes over a long period of time, it suggests that our human genomes may have come to expect a certain set of microbes and functions," Sonnenburg said.
The findings indicate that a diverse gut microbiome co-migrated with humans worldwide and has persisted over millennia, suggesting a mutual benefit between humans and these bacteria.
"The microbes are helping us digest foods in our gut, secreting molecules that get absorbed into the bloodstream," Sonnenburg added.
However, the loss of ancestral microbial taxa in industrialized humans raises questions about the health impacts of this biodiversity loss.
"When you start to lose biodiversity in your gut, there may be big issues for your human biology to adjust to and accommodate," said Sonnenburg.
Other researchers not affiliated with the paper say the hypothesis is intriguing but not yet proven, and that perhaps there's a reason these microbes tend not to appear in city dwellers' guts.
"Another alternative is that the industrialized microbiome profile may actually be adapted to an industrialized lifestyle," says Andrew Moeller, an associate professor of evolutionary biology at Princeton University.
What this adds
The study also highlights the need for further research to understand the full impact of gut microbiome diversity on human health.
The findings suggest that certain gut bacteria have co-evolved with humans over millennia, traveling with them across continents.
Background
A new study suggests that certain gut bacteria have co-evolved with humans over millennia, traveling with them across continents.
A new study published in Nature suggests that certain gut bacteria have co-evolved with humans over millennia, traveling with them across continents.
What's confirmed
- Researchers have found that gut bacteria have co-evolved with humans, traveling with them across continents over millennia, according to a study published in Nature.
- The study, led by Justin Sonnenburg, a professor of microbiology and immunology at Stanford University, examined stool samples from the Hadza hunter-gatherers in Tanzania and the Tsimane forager-farmers in the Bolivian Amazon.
- Sonnenburg and his team discovered that despite the geographical separation of these two groups, they share over 1,200 bacterial species, nearly 90% of which were identified in the highly diverse Tsimane microbiomes.
- "If we were inhabited by very similar microbes over a long period of time, it suggests that our human genomes may have come to expect a certain set of microbes and functions," Sonnenburg said.
- The findings indicate that a diverse gut microbiome co-migrated with humans worldwide and has persisted over millennia, suggesting a mutual benefit between humans and these bacteria.
- "The microbes are helping us digest foods in our gut, secreting molecules that get absorbed into the bloodstream," Sonnenburg added.
- However, the loss of ancestral microbial taxa in industrialized humans raises questions about the health impacts of this biodiversity loss.
- "When you start to lose biodiversity in your gut, there may be big issues for your human biology to adjust to and accommodate," said Sonnenburg.
- Other researchers not affiliated with the paper say the hypothesis is intriguing but not yet proven, and that perhaps there's a reason these microbes tend not to appear in city dwellers' guts.
- "Another alternative is that the industrialized microbiome profile may actually be adapted to an industrialized lifestyle," says Andrew Moeller, an associate professor of evolutionary biology at Princeton University.
What's still developing
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