The evolution and changing ecology of the African hominid oral microbiome
James A Fellows Yates cs 2021
PNAS 118(20)e2021655118
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2021655118
Significance

The microbiome plays key roles in human health,
but little is known about its evolution.

We investigate the evol.history of the African hominid oral micro-biome by analyzing dental bio-films of Hs & Hn, spanning the past 100 ka, comparing them with chimps, gorillas & howler monkeys.
We identify 10 core bacterial genera, that have been maintained within the human lineage, and play key bio-film structural roles.
Many remain understudied & unnamed.
We find
- major taxonomic & functional differences between the oral micro-biomes of Homo & Pan,
- a high degree of similarity between Hn & Hs, e.g.
an apparent Homo-specific acquisition of starch digestion capability in oral streptococci, suggesting microbial co-adaptation with host diet.

Abstract

The oral microbiome plays key roles in human biology, health & disease, but little is known about the global diversity, variation or evolution of this microbial community.
We analyzed 124 dental bio-film metagenomes from humans, incl. Hn & late-Pleistocene to present-day Hs, chimps & gorillas + New World howler monkeys for comparison.
We find:
- a core micro-biome of primarily bio-film structural taxa has been maintained throughout African hominid evolution,
- these microbial groups are also shared with howler monkeys:
have they have been important oral members since before the catarrhine–platyrrhine split c 40 Ma?

However, community structure & individual microbial phylogenies do not closely reflect host relationships:
the dental biofilms of Homo & Pan are distinguished by major taxonomic & functional differences.
Reconstructing oral meta-genomes from up to 100 ka, we show:
the microbial profiles of Hn & Hs are highly similar, sharing functional adaptations in nutrient metabolism, incl. an apparent Homo-specific acquisition of salivary amylase-binding capability by oral streptococci, suggesting microbial co-adaptation with host diet.
We additionally find evidence of shared genetic diversity in the oral bacteria of Hn & UP Hs, not observed in later Hs.
Differences in the oral micro-biomes of African hominids provide insights into
- human evolution,
- the ancestral state of the human microbiome,
- a temporal framework for understanding microbial health & disease.

On Thursday, September 16, 2021 at 3:33:10 PM UTC-4, littor...@gmail.com wrote:
> The evolution and changing ecology of the African hominid oral microbiome
> James A Fellows Yates cs 2021
> PNAS 118(20)e2021655118
> https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2021655118
>
> Significance
>
> The microbiome plays key roles in human health,
> but little is known about its evolution.
>
> We investigate the evol.history of the African hominid oral micro-biome by analyzing dental bio-films of Hs & Hn, spanning the past 100 ka, comparing them with chimps, gorillas & howler monkeys.
> We identify 10 core bacterial genera, that have been maintained within the human lineage, and play key bio-film structural roles.
> Many remain understudied & unnamed.
> We find
> - major taxonomic & functional differences between the oral micro-biomes of Homo & Pan,
> - a high degree of similarity between Hn & Hs, e.g.
> an apparent Homo-specific acquisition of starch digestion capability in oral streptococci, suggesting microbial co-adaptation with host diet.
>
> Abstract
>
> The oral microbiome plays key roles in human biology, health & disease, but little is known about the global diversity, variation or evolution of this microbial community.
> We analyzed 124 dental bio-film metagenomes from humans, incl. Hn & late-Pleistocene to present-day Hs, chimps & gorillas + New World howler monkeys for comparison.
>

We find:
> - a core micro-biome of primarily bio-film structural taxa has been maintained throughout African hominid evolution,
> - these microbial groups are also shared with howler monkeys:
> have they have been important oral members since before the catarrhine–platyrrhine split c 40 Ma?

Parallel in rainforest anthropoids from stemming from shared rainforest ancestor.

> However, community structure & individual microbial phylogenies do not closely reflect host relationships:
> the dental biofilms of Homo & Pan are distinguished by major taxonomic & functional differences.
> Reconstructing oral meta-genomes from up to 100 ka, we show:
> the microbial profiles of Hn & Hs are highly similar, sharing functional adaptations in nutrient metabolism, incl. an apparent Homo-specific acquisition of salivary amylase-binding capability by oral streptococci, suggesting microbial co-adaptation with host diet.
> We additionally find evidence of shared genetic diversity in the oral bacteria of Hn & UP Hs, not observed in later Hs.
> Differences in the oral micro-biomes of African hominids provide insights into
> - human evolution,
> - the ancestral state of the human microbiome,
> - a temporal framework for understanding microbial health & disease.

littor...@gmail.com wrote:
> The evolution and changing ecology of the African hominid oral microbiome
> James A Fellows Yates cs 2021
> PNAS 118(20)e2021655118
> https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2021655118
>
>

The REAL text

Significance
The microbiome plays key roles in human health, but little is known about its
evolution. We investigate the evolutionary history of the African hominid
oral
microbiome by analyzing dental biofilms of humans and Neanderthals spanning
the past 100,000 years and comparing them with those of chimpanzees,
gorillas,
and howler monkeys. We identify 10 core bacterial genera that have been
maintained within the human lineage and play key biofilm structural roles.
However, many remain understudied and unnamed. We find major taxonomic
and functional differences between the oral microbiomes of Homo and
chimpanzees but a high degree of similarity between Neanderthals and modern
humans, including an apparent Homo-specific acquisition of starch digestion
capability in oral streptococci, suggesting microbial coadaptation with host
diet.

Abstract
The oral microbiome plays key roles in human biology, health, and disease,
but
little is known about the global diversity, variation, or evolution of
this microbial
community. To better understand the evolution and changing ecology of the
human oral microbiome, we analyzed 124 dental biofilm metagenomes from
humans, including Neanderthals and Late Pleistocene to present-day modern
humans, chimpanzees, and gorillas, as well as New World howler monkeys for
comparison. We find that a core microbiome of primarily biofilm structural
taxa
has been maintained throughout African hominid evolution, and these microbial
groups are also shared with howler monkeys, suggesting that they have been
important oral members since before the catarrhine–platyrrhine split ca.
40 Mya.
However, community structure and individual microbial phylogenies do not
closely
reflect host relationships, and the dental biofilms of Homo and
chimpanzees are distinguished by major taxonomic and functional
differences. Reconstructing oral metagenomes from up to 100 thousand years
ago, we show that the microbial
profiles of both Neanderthals and modern humans are highly similar, sharing
functional adaptations in nutrient metabolism. These include an apparent
Homo-specific acquisition of salivary amylase-binding capability by oral
streptococci, suggesting microbial coadaptation with host diet. We
additionally
find evidence of shared genetic diversity in the oral bacteria of
Neanderthal and
Upper Paleolithic modern humans that is not observed in later modern human
populations. Differences in the oral microbiomes of African hominids provide
insights into human evolution, the ancestral state of the human microbiome
and
a temporal framework for understanding microbial health and disease.