Inference of the demographic histories and selective effects of human gut commensal microbiota over the course of human history.

ABSTRACT: Despite the importance of gut commensal microbiota to human health, there is little knowledge about their evolutionary histories, including their population demographic histories and their distributions of fitness effects (DFE) of new mutations. Here, we infer the demographic histories and DFEs of 27 of the most highly prevalent and abundant commensal gut microbial species in North Americans over timescales exceeding human generations using a collection of lineages inferred from a panel of healthy hosts. We find overall reductions in genetic variation among commensal gut microbes sampled from a Western population relative to an African rural population. Additionally, some species in North American microbiomes display contractions in population size and others expansions, potentially occurr

SUBMITTER: Mah JC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10680615 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature