Journal
ELIFE
Volume 4, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
eLIFE SCIENCES PUBL LTD
DOI: 10.7554/eLife.05224
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Funding
- National Science Foundation [IOS 1053461, DEB 0919200]
- National Institute of Aging [R01 AG034513, P01 AG031719]
- Direct For Biological Sciences
- Division Of Integrative Organismal Systems [1053461] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
- Direct For Biological Sciences
- Division Of Integrative Organismal Systems [1456832] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
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Social relationships have profound effects on health in humans and other primates, but the mechanisms that explain this relationship are not well understood. Using shotgun metagenomic data from wild baboons, we found that social group membership and social network relationships predicted both the taxonomic structure of the gut microbiome and the structure of genes encoded by gut microbial species. Rates of interaction directly explained variation in the gut microbiome, even after controlling for diet, kinship, and shared environments. They therefore strongly implicate direct physical contact among social partners in the transmission of gut microbial species. We identified 51 socially structured taxa, which were significantly enriched for anaerobic and non-spore-forming lifestyles. Our results argue that social interactions are an important determinant of gut microbiome composition in natural animal populations-a relationship with important ramifications for understanding how social relationships influence health, as well as the evolution of group living.
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