Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2015
DOI
10.1038/ncomms7505
Publication Title
Nature Communications
Volume
6
Pages
6505 (9 pages)
Abstract
Recent studies suggest that gut microbiomes of urban-industrialized societies are different from those of traditional peoples. Here we examine the relationship between lifeways and gut microbiota through taxonomic and functional potential characterization of faecal samples from hunter-gatherer and traditional agriculturalist communities in Peru and an urban-industrialized community from the US. We find that in addition to taxonomic and metabolic differences between urban and traditional lifestyles, hunter-gatherers form a distinct sub-group among traditional peoples. As observed in previous studies, we find that Treponema are characteristic of traditional gut microbiomes. Moreover, through genome reconstruction (2.2-2.5 MB, coverage depth x26-513) and functional potential characterization, we discover these Treponema are diverse, fall outside of pathogenic clades and are similar to Treponema succinifaciens, a known carbohydrate metabolizer in swine. Gut Treponema are found in non-human primates and all traditional peoples studied to date, suggesting they are symbionts lost in urban-industrialized societies.
Original Publication Citation
Obregon-Tito, A. J., Tito, R. Y., Metcalf, J., Sankaranarayanan, K., Clemente, J. C., Ursell, L. K., . . . Lewis, C. M. (2015). Subsistence strategies in traditional societies distinguish gut microbiomes. Nature Communications, 6, 6505 doi:10.1038/ncomms7505
Repository Citation
Obregon-Tito, A. J., Tito, R. Y., Metcalf, J., Sankaranarayanan, K., Clemente, J. C., Ursell, L. K., . . . Lewis, C. M. (2015). Subsistence strategies in traditional societies distinguish gut microbiomes. Nature Communications, 6, 6505 doi:10.1038/ncomms7505
Included in
Biological and Physical Anthropology Commons, Genetics and Genomics Commons, Microbiology Commons
Comments
Article is open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.