Documenting the diversity of the Namibian Ju|'hoansi intestinal microbiome

Mia Truter; Jessica E Koopman; Karen Jordaan; Leon Oma Tsamkxao; Don A Cowan; Simon J Underdown; Jean-Baptiste Ramond; Riaan F Rifkin

doi:10.1016/j.celrep.2024.113690

Documenting the diversity of the Namibian Ju|'hoansi intestinal microbiome

Cell Rep. 2024 Feb 27;43(2):113690. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2024.113690. Epub 2024 Jan 19.

Authors

Mia Truter¹, Jessica E Koopman², Karen Jordaan², Leon Oma Tsamkxao³, Don A Cowan², Simon J Underdown⁴, Jean-Baptiste Ramond⁵, Riaan F Rifkin⁶

Affiliations

¹ Center for Microbial Ecology and Genomics, Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, University of Pretoria, Hatfield 0028, South Africa; Scientific Computing Research Unit, Department of Chemistry, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7700, South Africa.
² Center for Microbial Ecology and Genomics, Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, University of Pretoria, Hatfield 0028, South Africa.
³ Juǀ'hoan Traditional Authority (JUTA), Tsumkwe, Otjozondjupa Region, Namibia.
⁴ Center for Microbial Ecology and Genomics, Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, University of Pretoria, Hatfield 0028, South Africa; Department of Anthropology and Geography, Human Origins and Palaeoenvironmental Research Group, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford OX3 0BP, UK.
⁵ Center for Microbial Ecology and Genomics, Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, University of Pretoria, Hatfield 0028, South Africa; Department of Anthropology and Geography, Human Origins and Palaeoenvironmental Research Group, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford OX3 0BP, UK; Extreme Ecosystem Microbiomics & Ecogenomics (E(2)ME) Lab., Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago 8331150, Chile.
⁶ Center for Microbial Ecology and Genomics, Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, University of Pretoria, Hatfield 0028, South Africa; Juǀ'hoan Traditional Authority (JUTA), Tsumkwe, Otjozondjupa Region, Namibia; Department of Anthropology and Geography, Human Origins and Palaeoenvironmental Research Group, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford OX3 0BP, UK. Electronic address: riaanrifkin@gmail.com.

PMID: 38244196
DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2024.113690

Abstract

We investigate the bacterial and fungal composition and functionality of the Ju|'hoansi intestinal microbiome (IM). The Juǀ'hoansi are a hunter-gatherer community residing in northeastern Namibia. They formerly subsisted by hunting and gathering but have been increasingly exposed to industrial dietary sources, medicines, and lifestyle features. They present an opportunity to study the evolution of the human IM in situ, from a predominantly hunter-gatherer to an increasingly Western urban-forager-farmer lifestyle. Their bacterial IM resembles that of typical hunter-gatherers, being enriched for genera such as Prevotella, Blautia, Faecalibacterium, Succinivibrio, and Treponema. Fungal IM inhabitants include animal pathogens and plant saprotrophs such as Fusarium, Issatchenkia, and Panellus. Our results suggest that diet and culture exert a greater influence on Ju|'hoansi IM composition than age, self-identified biological sex, and medical history. The Ju|'hoansi exhibit a unique core IM composition that diverges from the core IMs of other populations.

Keywords: CP: Microbiology; Kalahari; Westernization; hunter-gatherer; intestinal microbiome.

MeSH terms

Animals
Gastrointestinal Microbiome*
Humans
Prevotella
Saccharomycetales*