Researchers dig up secrets of gut microbiomes from thousands of years ago What do you get when an archeologist and a gut microbiome researcher collaborate? Ancient poop.
An international research team was able to analyze DNA from 50,000-year-old fecal sediments sampled at the archaeological site of El Salt, near Alicante, Spain, a location where Neanderthals lived before they disappeared from the scene. The fecal material the oldest available to date was excavated by an archeologist from the University of La Laguna, Campus de Guajara, Spain, and then sent to the University of Bologna for the analysis.
The study, published in the journal
Updated Feb 07, 2021 | 10:45 IST
Neanderthals gut microbiota already included some beneficial micro-organisms that are also found in our own intestine, suggest the findings of a new study. Study reveals Neanderthals gut microbiota, bacteria helping our health | Photo Credits: Pixabay
Bologna [Italy]: Neanderthals gut microbiota already included some beneficial micro-organisms that are also found in our own intestine, suggest the findings of a new study.
An international research group led by the University of Bologna achieved this result by extracting and analysing ancient DNA from 50,000-year-old faecal sediments sampled at the archaeological site of El Salt, near Alicante (Spain).
Published in Communication Biology, their paper puts forward the hypothesis of the existence of ancestral components of human microbiota that have been living in the human gastrointestinal tract since before the separation between the Homo Sapiens and Neanderthals that
Through the study of ancient DNA from 50,000-year-old Neanderthal faecal sediments, an international research group isolated a group of micro-organisms whose characteristics are similar to those of modern Sapiens: such findings can be instrumental to the protection of our gut microbiota
Study reveals Nehandertals gut microbiota, bacteria helping our health
Study reveals Nehandertals gut microbiota, bacteria helping our health
Last Updated: Fri, Feb 5th, 2021, 18:33:51hrs
Bologna [Italy], February 5 (ANI): Neanderthals gut microbiota already included some beneficial micro-organisms that are also found in our own intestine, suggest the findings of a new study.
An international research group led by the University of Bologna achieved this result by extracting and analysing ancient DNA from 50,000-year-old faecal sediments sampled at the archaeological site of El Salt, near Alicante (Spain).
Published in Communication Biology, their paper puts forward the hypothesis of the existence of ancestral components of human microbiota that have been living in the human gastrointestinal tract since before the separation between the Homo Sapiens and Neanderthals that occurred more than 700,000 years ago.