Abstract
BackgroundIt is increasingly recognized that the bacteria that live in and on the human body (the microbiome) can play an important role in health and disease. The composition of the microbiome is potentially influenced by both internal factors (such as phylogeny and host physiology) and external factors (such as diet and local environment), and interspecific comparisons can aid in understanding the importance of these factors.ResultsTo gain insights into the relative importance of these factors on saliva microbiome diversity, we here analyze the saliva microbiomes of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and bonobos (Pan paniscus) from two sanctuaries in Africa, and from human workers at each sanctuary. The saliva microbiomes of the two Pan species are more similar to one another, and the saliva microbiomes of the two human groups are more similar to one another, than are the saliva microbiomes of human workers and apes from the same sanctuary. We also looked for the existence of a core microbiome and find no evidence for a taxon-based core saliva microbiome for Homo or Pan. In addition, we studied the saliva microbiome from apes from the Leipzig Zoo, and found an extraordinary diversity in the zoo ape saliva microbiomes that is not found in the saliva microbiomes of the sanctuary animals.ConclusionsThe greater similarity of the saliva microbiomes of the two Pan species to one another, and of the two human groups to one another, are in accordance with both the phylogenetic relationships of the hosts as well as with host physiology. Moreover, the results from the zoo animals suggest that novel environments can have a large impact on the microbiome, and that microbiome analyses based on captive animals should be viewed with caution as they may not reflect the microbiome of animals in the wild.
Highlights
It is increasingly recognized that the bacteria that live in and on the human body can play an important role in health and disease
A previous study of the fecal microbiome of wild apes found a significant concordance between microbiomes and the phylogenetic relationships of the host species [9], indicating that over evolutionary timescales, intrinsic factors are more important than extrinsic factors in influencing the composition of the great ape fecal microbiome
We reasoned that if internal factors such as phylogeny or host physiology are the primary influence on the saliva microbiome, the saliva microbiomes of the two Pan species should be more similar to one another than either is to the two human groups, and the saliva microbiomes of the two human groups should be more similar to one another
Summary
It is increasingly recognized that the bacteria that live in and on the human body (the microbiome) can play an important role in health and disease. The composition of the microbiome is potentially influenced by both internal factors (such as phylogeny and host physiology) and external factors (such as diet and local environment), and interspecific comparisons can aid in understanding the importance of these factors. Fundamental questions that remain unresolved include: the extent to which the microbiome is influenced by intrinsic/internal factors (including phylogeny, vertical transmission, host physiology, etc.) vs extrinsic/ external factors (such as diet, environment, geography, etc.); whether or not there exists a core microbiome (i.e., a set of bacterial taxa characteristic of a particular niche in the body of all humans); and the extent to which sharing of microbes between individuals can occur, either. To investigate the relative importance of various factors on saliva microbiome diversity, in this study we analyzed the saliva microbiomes of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and bonobos (Pan paniscus) from two sanctuaries in Africa, and from human workers at each sanctuary. We studied the saliva microbiome from apes from the Leipzig Zoo, and found an extraordinary diversity in the zoo ape saliva microbiomes that is not found in the saliva microbiomes of the sanctuary animals
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