Anthropology of microbes

Benezra, Amber; DeStefano, Joseph; Gordon, Jeffrey I.

doi:10.1073/pnas.1200515109

Cited by 89 publications

(66 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…Epidemiologic studies of the impact of environmental factors on physiological variations and disease predispositions would be enhanced by integrating microbiological surveys, including time series studies during the first years of postnatal life. These efforts would be timely as we seek to understand the impact of Westernization on human biology and to delineate, from an anthropologic perspective, how different cultural traditions and lifestyles relate to our microbial ecology (Benezra et al, 2012). …”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cohabiting family members share microbiota with one another and with their dogs

Song

Lauber

Costello

et al. 2013

eLife

909

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Human-associated microbial communities vary across individuals: possible contributing factors include (genetic) relatedness, diet, and age. However, our surroundings, including individuals with whom we interact, also likely shape our microbial communities. To quantify this microbial exchange, we surveyed fecal, oral, and skin microbiota from 60 families (spousal units with children, dogs, both, or neither). Household members, particularly couples, shared more of their microbiota than individuals from different households, with stronger effects of co-habitation on skin than oral or fecal microbiota. Dog ownership significantly increased the shared skin microbiota in cohabiting adults, and dog-owning adults shared more ‘skin’ microbiota with their own dogs than with other dogs. Although the degree to which these shared microbes have a true niche on the human body, vs transient detection after direct contact, is unknown, these results suggest that direct and frequent contact with our cohabitants may significantly shape the composition of our microbial communities.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.00458.001

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cohabiting family members share microbiota with one another and with their dogs

Song

Lauber

Costello

et al. 2013

eLife

909

730

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Over the past decade, it has become increasingly clear that the study of human evolution is not complete without consideration of the human microbiome [1–3]. In addition to our own somatic cells, our bodies are a patchwork landscape that is home to thousands of different microbial species that number in the tens of trillions of cells [4•].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Insights into human evolution from ancient and contemporary microbiome studies

Schnorr

Sankaranarayanan

Lewis

et al. 2016

Current Opinion in Genetics & Development

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Over the past decade, human microbiome research has energized the study of human evolution through a complete shift in our understanding of what it means to be human. The microbiome plays a pivotal role in human biology, performing key functions in digestion, mood and behavior, development and immunity, and a range of acute and chronic diseases. It is therefore critical to understand its evolution and changing ecology through time. Here we review recent findings on the microbiota of diverse human populations, non-human primates, and past human populations and discuss the implications of this research in formulating a deeper evolutionary understanding of the human holobiont.

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“…Analyses utilize important perspectives from non-human primate ecology, biological anthropology, community ecology and microbial ecology (Benezra et al, 2012;Costello et al, 2012), and illustrate a 'co-degradation' of howler habitat, diet and GI microbiomes that presents new concerns for conservation biology.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Habitat degradation impacts black howler monkey (Alouatta pigra) gastrointestinal microbiomes

et al. 2013

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The gastrointestinal (GI) microbiome contributes significantly to host nutrition and health. However, relationships involving GI microbes, their hosts and host macrohabitats remain to be established. Here, we define clear patterns of variation in the GI microbiomes of six groups of Mexican black howler monkeys (Alouatta pigra) occupying a gradation of habitats including a continuous evergreen rainforest, an evergreen rainforest fragment, a continuous semi-deciduous forest and captivity. High throughput microbial 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing indicated that diversity, richness and composition of howler GI microbiomes varied with host habitat in relation to diet. Howlers occupying suboptimal habitats consumed less diverse diets and correspondingly had less diverse gut microbiomes. Quantitative real-time PCR also revealed a reduction in the number of genes related to butyrate production and hydrogen metabolism in the microbiomes of howlers occupying suboptimal habitats, which may impact host health.

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Anthropology of microbes

Abstract: We describe the need to further integrate the fields of human microbial ecology and anthropology and outline some of the potential goals and benefits of this collaborative work.food | human microbiome | integration of natural and social sciences | subfields of anthropology

Cited by 89 publications

References 43 publications

Cohabiting family members share microbiota with one another and with their dogs

Cohabiting family members share microbiota with one another and with their dogs

Insights into human evolution from ancient and contemporary microbiome studies

Habitat degradation impacts black howler monkey (Alouatta pigra) gastrointestinal microbiomes

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