Evolution: bacteria's' role in human biomes (Introduction)

by David Turell , Monday, July 12, 2021, 19:09 (1231 days ago) @ David Turell

It seems our gut biome is influences by our genome:

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/07/210708170331.htm

"...a University of Notre Dame study has found a much greater genetic component at play than was once known.

"In the study, published recently in Science, researchers discovered that most bacteria in the gut microbiome are heritable after looking at more than 16,000 gut microbiome profiles collected over 14 years from a long-studied population of baboons in Kenya's Amboseli National Park. However, this heritability changes over time, across seasons and with age. The team also found that several of the microbiome traits heritable in baboons are also heritable in humans.

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"The gut microbiome performs several jobs. In addition to helping with food digestion, it creates essential vitamins and assists with training the immune system. This new research is the first to show a definitive connection with heritability.

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'The research team found that 97 percent of microbiome traits, including overall diversity and the abundance of individual microbes, were significantly heritable

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"The team did find evidence that environmental factors influence trait heritability in the gut microbiome. Microbiome heritability was typically 48 percent higher in the dry season than in the wet, which may be explained by the baboons' more diverse diet during the rainy season. Heritability also increased with age, according to the study.

"Because the research also showed the significant impact of environment on the gut microbiomes in baboons, their findings agreed with previous studies showing that environmental effects on the variation in the gut microbiome play a larger role than additive genetic effects. Combined with their discovery of the genetic component, the team plans to refine its understanding of the environmental factors involved."

Comment: More evidence that bacteria must be here and have a strong role to play, even if some act badly at times.