Jef Akst | Apr 6, 2010 | 3 min read
Gut microbes, which help humans degrade otherwise indigestible plant material, acquire some crucial digestive enzyme genes from the bacteria in the food we eat, according to a study published this week in Nature. This new finding provides an example of horizontal gene transfer by which diet can influence the genetic diversity and functionality of the human gut microbiome. Image: Wikimedia commons, Alessandro Scotti"It's a fascinating story," said microbiologist linkurl:Jeffrey Gordon;http://gor