Comparative Population Genetics in the Human Gut Microbiome.

ABSTRACT: Genetic variation in the human gut microbiome is responsible for conferring a number of crucial phenotypes like the ability to digest food and metabolize drugs. Yet, our understanding of how this variation arises and is maintained remains relatively poor. Thus, the microbiome remains a largely untapped resource, as the large number of coexisting species in the microbiome presents a unique opportunity to compare and contrast evolutionary processes across species to identify universal trends and deviations. Here we outline features of the human gut microbiome that, while not unique in isolation, as an assemblage make it a system with unparalleled potential for comparative population genomics studies. We consciously take a broad view of comparative population genetics, emphasizing how samplin

SUBMITTER: Shoemaker WR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8743038 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature