Saturday 4 February 2017

Captive monkeys gain human microbiomes


To explore how a microbiome adapts to a new environment, University of Minnesota researcher Dan Knights and his colleagues turned their attention to nonhuman primates.

According to Bioscience Techniques, the team examined the microbiota from two species of monkeys living in a zoo, in a sanctuary, or in the wild using shotgun sequencing. The data showed that monkeys living in the wild possessed broad, diverse microbial signatures, while the animals living in sanctuaries showed considerably less variety. Interestingly, monkeys living in zoos showed even less diversity, with their microbes actually resembling signatures found in modern humans. A follow-up study of 33 monkeys representing 8 different species raised in a zoo showed a similar microbial complement.

For further details see:

Clayton JB, Vangay P, Huang H, Ward T, Hillmann BM, Al-Ghalith GA, Travis DA, Long HT, Tuan BV, Minh VV, Cabana F, Nadler T, Toddes B, Murphy T, Glander KE, Johnson TJ, Knights D. Captivity humanizes the primate microbiome. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2016 Sep 13;113(37):10376-81.

Posted by Dr. Tim Sandle

No comments:

Post a Comment

Pharmaceutical Microbiology Resources

Special offers