Coprolites from near the Turkey Pen site in Utah reveal ancient diets.
RUSS BISHOP/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO
Piles of ancient poop reveal ‘extinction event’ in human gut bacteria
May. 12, 2021 , 11:00 AM
Every meal you eat is digested with the help of the bountiful bacteria thronging your intestines. When you're done digesting, those bacteria are also part of what's excreted. Now, 1000-year-old piles of dried-out poop are offering insights into how the billions-strong bacterial ecosystems in the human gut have been altered by sanitation, processed foods, and antibiotics.
In a study published today in
Nature, researchers analyzed ancient DNA from coprolites, or preserved feces, found at the back of rock shelters in Utah and Mexico. The data give scientists their first good look at ancient gut bacterial communities, says Stanford University biologist Justin Sonnenburg. “These paleofeces are the equivalent of a time machine.”