differences in gut microbial community membership between individuals or between timepoints for a given individual). the community of bacterial taxa within a given sample) and beta-diversity (i.e. We assessed changes in gut microbial community composition over the chimpanzee life course, focusing on patterns of alpha-diversity (i.e. We collected 618 fresh fecal samples over three years from 166 known individuals in two groups of wild chimpanzees (Kanyawara and Ngogo) in the Kibale National Park, Uganda. Probing the phenotypic consequences of differential early life gut microbial diversity in chimpanzees and other primates will illuminate the life history impacts of the hominid-microbiome partnership. These data indicate differential trajectories of gut microbiota development in humans and chimpanzees that are consistent with interspecific differences in lactation, diet, and immune function. However, in direct contrast to human infants, chimpanzee infants harbored surprisingly high-diversity rather than low-diversity gut bacterial communities compared with older conspecifics. Infant chimpanzee guts were enriched in some of the same taxa prevalent in infant humans (e.g., Bifidobacterium, Streptococcus, Bacteroides), and, like humans, chimpanzee gut microbial communities exhibited higher interindividual variation in infancy versus later in life. Notably, gut microbial signatures in infants <2 years old were distinct across all four metrics. We found that chimpanzee gut microbial alpha-diversity, composition, interindividual variation, and change over time varied significantly with age. Here, we profile the gut microbiota of 166 wild chimpanzees aged 8 months to 67 years in the Kibale National Park, Uganda, and compare the patterns of gut microbial maturation to those previously observed in humans. These adaptations suggest that lifetime trajectories of human-microbial relationships could differ from those of our closest living relatives. However, humans are unique among primates in that we consume highly digestible foods, wean early, mature slowly, and exhibit high lifelong investments in maintenance. Survival in primates is facilitated by commensal gut microbes that ferment otherwise indigestible plant matter, resist colonization by pathogens, and train the developing immune system.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |