Thread by @mathildpoyet

Excited to share our article presenting the @globalmicrobiom initiative and releasing our first batch of data and results! This work highlights how microbiomes acquire new functionality based on host lifestyle. @CellCellPress.
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sciencedirect.com/science/articl…

We've known that transitioning from non-industrialized to industrialized lifestyles is associated with changes in gut #microbiome composition and decreased diversity. Whether gut bacterial genomes may also adapt to the industrialization of their host remains largely unexplored.

With @globalmicrobiom scientists, we generated thousands of bacterial genomes from 15 populations spanning a range of industrialization - in the USA, Canada, Finland, Tanzania, Nigeria, Ghana & Cameroon to understand how host lifestyle impact the evolution of our gut microbiomes.

We first show that gene transfers between human gut bacterial species (Horizontal Gene Transfer - #HGT) occur frequently within the gut of each person, illustrating how bacterial genomes become personalized to their human host.

Comparing HGTs across human populations revealed industrialized lifestyles are linked with an increased frequency of gene transfers in the human gut microbiome.

Finally, the data we generated also allowed us to discover that the functions of these HGTs reflect the host’s lifestyle and are related to their level of industrialization.

For example, non-industrialized cohorts, who consume larger amounts of non-digestible fiber, harbored gut bacteria that exchanged the enzyme required to digest these fibers (CAZyme) genes at higher frequencies than individuals living in industrialized and/or urban regions.

These results suggest that the industrialization has reshaped the evolution of the global human gut, and that gene transfers occur at rates sufficiently high to influence the function of our gut microbes during our lifetime.

See threads by @mgroussi & @ejalm to learn more about our results and follow @globalmicrobiom to stay up-to-date on our effort to preserve endangered microbial diversity and to advance microbiome science worldwide.
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microbiomeconservancy.org

Thanks to the amazing scientists who made this all happen: @AinaraSistiaga, @microbetrainer, Katya Moniz, Mary Noel & Jeff Hooker (Chief Dull Knife College), @gibbological, @lsegurel, @froment_alain, Rihlat Said Mohamed (@UCamArchaeology)…

Alain Fezeu & Vanessa Juimo (@ird_fr), Sophie Lafosse (@Le_Museum), Francis Tabe (@FacSciencesUY1), @cath__girard, Deborah Iqaluk, Le Thanh Tu Nguyen, @bjesseshapiro, @LehtimakiJenni, Lasse Ruokolainen (@helsinkiuni), @PinjaKet, @tvatanen, @sigwazi, Audax Mabulla (@UniofDar)…

Manuel Domínguez-Rodrigo (@UAHes), Yvonne Nartey (@karolinskainst), Adwoa Agyei-Nkansah (@UnivofGh), Amoako Duah (sdhakwatia.org), Yaw Awuku (@CapeVars), @kavalles1, Shadrack Asibey(@cugedu), Mary Afihene (@KNUSTGH), Lewis Roberts(@MayoClinicSOM), @Aplymoth ...

Charles Onyekwere (lasucom.edu.ng), Roger Summons (@eapsMIT), Ramnik Xavier (@TheXavierLab) & @ejalm. And thanks for support from @MIT @MITMicrobiome @broadinstitute and @CCorzett for documenting our field work through photography.