Shifting Climates, Foods, and Diseases: The Human Microbiome through Evolution

Area of Science:

• Human Evolution
• Microbiology
• Ecology

Background:

• Human evolution is marked by environmental changes, infections, and landscape shifts.
• Host adaptation to these changes influenced survival and fitness.
• The gut microbiome's role in adaptation is increasingly recognized.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the gut microbiome's contribution to human evolutionary success.
• To explore how host genetics, diet, and environment alter the microbiome.
• To examine the microbiome's role in host responses to environmental change.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of evolutionary biology and microbiology.
• Analysis of factors influencing microbial community composition.
• Synthesis of research on host-microbe interactions and adaptation.

Main Results:

• The gut microbiome provides nutritional buffering and infectious disease resistance.
• Microbial communities are shaped by human genetics, diet, disease, and social factors.
• The microbiome is a key mediator of host responses to environmental shifts.

Conclusions:

• Reciprocal human-microbe interactions likely shaped local adaptation throughout evolution.
• Recent lifestyle changes are altering human microbiomes significantly.
• The impact of disrupted host-microbe relationships on future human adaptability is unknown.