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Updated: Jul 7, 2026
06:23
Applying Advanced In Vitro Culturing Technology to Study the Human Gut Microbiota
Published on: February 15, 2019
Limited codiversification of the gut microbiota within humans
Benjamin H Good1,2,3
1Department of Applied Physics, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA.
Mbio
|July 6, 2026
Summary
Human gut bacteria diversity is shaped by evolution. New analysis shows limited codiversification between humans and gut microbes, suggesting geographic structure plays a larger role than previously thought.
Area of Science:
- Microbial ecology
- Human evolution
- Genomics
Background:
- Human gut bacteria exhibit significant population-level variation.
- Previous studies suggested codiversification between humans and gut microbes based on phylogenetic correlations.
- Understanding these evolutionary forces is crucial for various applications.
Purpose of the Study:
- To critically re-examine the hypothesis of human-microbe codiversification.
- To investigate the evolutionary history and variation of the gut microbiota.
- To provide new evidence on the correlations between human and microbial genealogies.
Main Methods:
- Re-analysis of existing phylogenetic data.
- Comparison of correlations between human and microbial phylogenies.
- Assessment of geographic structure's influence on microbial diversity.
Main Results:
- Phylogenetic correlations between humans and gut microbes are weaker than previously reported.
- Similar correlations can arise from geographic structure alone.
- Evidence suggests limited recent codiversification between humans and their gut bacteria.
Conclusions:
- Traditional codiversification models may not fully explain recent human-microbe coevolution.
- Geographic structure is a significant factor in shaping gut microbial diversity.
- Alternative methods are needed to quantify human-microbe coevolution.
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