Ancient human microbiomes

TY - JOUR

T1 - Ancient human microbiomes

AU - Warinner, Christina

AU - Speller, Camilla

AU - Collins, Matthew J.

AU - Lewis, Cecil M.

PY - 2015/2/1

Y1 - 2015/2/1

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 we therefore lack a foundation for characterizing this change. High-throughput 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 we therefore lack a foundation for characterizing this change. High-throughput 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 - Coprolite

KW - Dental calculus

KW - Feces

KW - Metagenomics

KW - Metaproteomics

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84921793410&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.jhevol.2014.10.016

DO - 10.1016/j.jhevol.2014.10.016

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 25559298

AN - SCOPUS:84921793410

SN - 0047-2484

VL - 79

SP - 125

EP - 136

JO - Journal of Human Evolution

JF - Journal of Human Evolution

ER -