WIKIMEDIA COMMONS, TWINSUKPrevious research suggested host genetic variation can influence microbial phenotype, but an analysis of data from a large twin study published in Cell today (November 6) solidifies the connection between human genotype and the composition of the gut microbiome. Studying more than 1,000 fecal samples from 416 monozygotic and dizygotic twin pairs, Cornell University’s Ruth Ley and her colleagues have homed in on one bacterial taxon, the family Christensenellaceae, as the most highly heritable group of microbes in the human gut. The researchers also found that Christensenellaceae—which was first described just two years ago—is central to a network of co-occurring heritable microbes that is associated with lean body mass index (BMI). They determined that introducing at least one member this bacterial family was associated with reduced weight gain in mice.
“To me, the most interesting and exciting part was their demonstration of heritability of the microbiome,” said Martin Blaser, the director of the Human Microbiome Program at New York University Langone Medical Center who was not involved in the work. “I’ve been postulating this for some time, so it’s very nice to find evidence for this.”
“Our primary goal was to establish, once and for all, whether there was an effect of host genotype on the composition of the gut microbiome,” Ley, an associate professor of microbiology, told The Scientist. “We thought perhaps there would be a few taxa here and there that might be heritable, but [a] list popped up, and it started getting more and more interesting.”
Of particular interest was the family ...
