IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/nat/natcom/v3y2012i1d10.1038_ncomms2159.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Chimpanzees and humans harbour compositionally similar gut enterotypes

Author

Listed:
  • Andrew H. Moeller

    (Yale University)

  • Patrick H. Degnan

    (Yale University)

  • Anne E. Pusey

    (Duke University)

  • Michael L. Wilson

    (University of Minnesota
    Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota)

  • Beatrice H. Hahn

    (Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania)

  • Howard Ochman

    (Yale University)

Abstract

Microbes inhabiting the human gastrointestinal tract tend to adopt one of three characteristic community structures, called ‘enterotypes’, each of which is overrepresented by a distinct set of bacterial genera. Here we report that the gut microbiotae of chimpanzees also assort into enterotypes and that these chimpanzee enterotypes are compositionally analogous to those of humans. Through the analysis of longitudinal samples, we show that the microbial signatures of the enterotypes are stable over time, but that individual hosts switch between enterotypes over periods longer than a year. These results support the hypothesis that enterotypic variation was present in populations of great apes before the divergence of humans and chimpanzees.

Suggested Citation

  • Andrew H. Moeller & Patrick H. Degnan & Anne E. Pusey & Michael L. Wilson & Beatrice H. Hahn & Howard Ochman, 2012. "Chimpanzees and humans harbour compositionally similar gut enterotypes," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 3(1), pages 1-5, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:3:y:2012:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms2159
    DOI: 10.1038/ncomms2159
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms2159
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1038/ncomms2159?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:3:y:2012:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms2159. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.nature.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.