This is the blog for GW students taking Human Evolutionary Genetics. This site is for posting interesting tidbits on: the patterns and processes of human genetic variation;human origins and migration; molecular adaptations to environment, lifestyle and disease; ancient and forensic DNA analyses; and genealogical reconstructions.

GWHEG figure

GWHEG figure

Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Antibiotics can alter your microbiota

The effect of culture on the microbiome (micro organisms commensal with humans) has been relatively well studied in deep time, most notably through the effects of diet change following the origin of farming. However, accelerated cultural changes in the last hundred years would have contributed to altering the microbiome in complex and poorly understood ways. A recent review article examines the impact of the use of antibiotics on human microbiota and suggests they might be one of the main drivers of microbiota diversity. According to this article, the use of antibiotics affects the composition and diversity of the microbiome during and after a treatment. An "unhealthy" microbiota is linked to a number of problems and diseases including allergies, depression and  inflammatory conditions.
Selective forces influencing the human microbiome through time

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