Ancient Human Microbiomes

TY - JOUR

T1 - Ancient Human Microbiomes

AU - Warinner, Christina

AU - Speller, Camilla

AU - Collins, Matthew J.

AU - Lewis Jr., Cecil M.

PY - 2015/2

Y1 - 2015/2

N2 - Very recently, we discovered a vast new microbial self: the human microbiome. Our native microbiota interface with our biology and culture to influence our health, behavior, and quality of life, and yet we know very little about their origin, evolution, or ecology. With the advent of industrialization, globalization, and modern sanitation, it is intuitive that we have changed our relationship with microbes, but we have little information about the ancestral state of our microbiome, and therefore, we lack a foundation for characterizing this change. Highthroughput sequencing has opened up new opportunities in the field of paleomicrobiology, allowing us to investigate the evolution of the complex microbial ecologies that inhabit our bodies. By focusing on recent coprolite and dental calculus research, we explore how emerging research on ancient human microbiomes is changing the way we think about ancient disease and how archaeological studies can contribute to a medical understanding of health and nutrition today.

AB - Very recently, we discovered a vast new microbial self: the human microbiome. Our native microbiota interface with our biology and culture to influence our health, behavior, and quality of life, and yet we know very little about their origin, evolution, or ecology. With the advent of industrialization, globalization, and modern sanitation, it is intuitive that we have changed our relationship with microbes, but we have little information about the ancestral state of our microbiome, and therefore, we lack a foundation for characterizing this change. Highthroughput sequencing has opened up new opportunities in the field of paleomicrobiology, allowing us to investigate the evolution of the complex microbial ecologies that inhabit our bodies. By focusing on recent coprolite and dental calculus research, we explore how emerging research on ancient human microbiomes is changing the way we think about ancient disease and how archaeological studies can contribute to a medical understanding of health and nutrition today.

KW - Ancient DNA

KW - Gut Microbiome

KW - Oral Microbiome

KW - Paleomicrobiology

KW - metagenomics

KW - metaproteomics

KW - coprolites

KW - dental calculus

KW - dental plaque

U2 - 10.1016/j.jhevol.2014.10.016

DO - 10.1016/j.jhevol.2014.10.016

M3 - Article

SN - 0047-2484

VL - 79

SP - 125

EP - 136

JO - Journal of Human Evolution

JF - Journal of Human Evolution

ER -