Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 30, 2026

Oral Biofilm Sampling for Microbiome Analysis in Healthy Children
Published on: December 31, 2017
High diversity of the saliva microbiome in Batwa Pygmies
Ivan Nasidze1, Jing Li, Roland Schroeder
1Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany. nasidze@eva.mpg.de
Abstract:
We describe the saliva microbiome diversity in Batwa Pygmies, a former hunter-gatherer group from Uganda, using next-generation sequencing of partial 16S rRNA sequences. Microbial community diversity in the Batwa is significantly higher than in agricultural groups from Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of Congo. We found 40 microbial genera in the Batwa, which have previously not been described in the human oral cavity. The distinctive composition of the salvia microbiome of the Batwa may have been influenced by their recent different lifestyle and diet.
Related Concept Videos
The Oral Microbiota
Microbiota of the Respiratory Tract
Development of the Oral Microbiota
Microbiota of the Urogenital Tract
The Skin Microbiota
Human Virome

