Human gut microbiome evolution: From hunter-gatherers to a western lifestyle

Westerners have a less-diverse gut microbiome compared to hunter-gatherers, but how and why these microbe collections diverged has largely remained a mystery. Now, researchers reporting February 25 in Cell Reports describe an intermediate gut microbiome from the Central African Republic's Bantu community, a traditional population that incorporates some westernized lifestyle practices. The discovery offers insight into what factors may drive our microbiome differences, which are thought to be lin