New paper: Lifestyle influences microbiome

In primate species, a change in lifestyle leads to adjustments in their microbiome. What does this mean? 

The study subject, the ARTIS gorilla Akili

Over the last years, ARTIS Micropia Professor Remco Kort and his Bioinformatics & Systems Biology student Isabel Houtkamp studied the faeces of the western lowland gorilla. They did this by comparing the composition of the microbiome of the ARTIS gorillas with that of their wild counterparts – and also with that of humans. They were assisted by Walter Pirovano and Mark Bessem of the company BaseClear, experts in the field of microbial DNA analyses. This research revealed interesting correspondences. In both primate species, a change in lifestyle led to adjustments in their microbiome. So what does this mean? 

To find out, check out their new paper here and a behind-the-scenes story Remco wrote for Micropia.