Researchers find the microbiomes of wild
gorillas shift seasonally when once a year they switch from eating fibrous
leaves to eating fruit
Date: May 3, 2018
Source: Columbia University's Mailman School
of Public Health
A study of the microbiomes of wild gorillas
and chimpanzees offers insights into the evolution of the human microbiome and
might even have implications for human health. The research project was led by
scientists at the Center for Infection and Immunity (CII) at Columbia
University's Mailman School of Public Health. Findings appear in the
journal Nature Communications.
The researchers used genetic sequencing to
analyze fecal samples collected by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) from
wild African great apes living the Sangha region of the Republic of Congo over
the course of three years. Their goal was to understand the mix of gut microbes
living in gorillas and chimpanzees and compare them to those already documented
in other non-human primates and human populations. They found that gorilla and
chimpanzee microbiomes fluctuate with seasonal rainfall patterns and diet,
switching markedly during the summer dry period when succulent fruits abound in
their environment and make up a larger proportion of their diet, as opposed to
their usual, more fiber-rich diet of leaves and bark.
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