Gut bacteria reveal ancient ties to human migrations across continents, genetic analysis suggests
As waves of humans left Africa tens of thousands of years ago, eventually populating the entire planet, they were joined on their world-conquering ride by the trillions of microorganisms that compose the gut microbiome.
Recent genetic analysis suggests that ancient gut bacteria played a crucial role in the migration of early human populations across continents, according to a study published in Nature. Scientists from Stanford University compared the microbiomes of the Hadza, a group of hunter-gatherers in Tanzania, and the Tsimane, Indigenous forager-horticulturalists in Bolivia.
Both groups share over 1,200 bacterial species, with nearly 90% found in the Tsimane's highly diverse microbiome. Many of these species, accounting for about 60%, are rare or absent in industrialized populations. The study estimates that these microbial lineages have deep evolutionary roots dating back to ancient human migrations out of Africa.
The researchers suggest that the long-term association between humans and these bacteria may have implications for understanding how the loss of microbial diversity due to industrialization could impact human health.
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