Part 3, Genetic Diversity and the Extinction of the Human Microbiome

Full Scope Human Longevity

Summary

Diversity in ecology and genetics appears to be a very good thing. The human species has a genetic pool (all the gene variants from all the humans alive) that is diverse and protective for our species. Human bodies and all other multi-cellular organisms also host diverse arrays of micro-organisms that our essential to health.

Morbidity and Mortality

Antibiotics, pesticide, cesarean sections, baby formula, monocrops, processed foods, disconnection with nature, other pharmaceuticals like proton-pump inhibitors, and other factors have all contributed to a mass extinction of the human gut microbiome. It is estimated that humans have lost 50% of our microbial diversity in the last few hundred years.

Story

Microbial fossils isolated from 1000 year old poop shows 38% novel species (now extinct)

Key Points

1. Human bodies are an ecosystem

2. A diverse ecosystem is associated with health. Dysbiosis is associated with numerous chronic diseases.

3. The food we eat and the way we live our lives has profound effects on our microbiotia and health.

4. In the absence of a genetic disease, our microbiome contributes more to our health than our own genes.

References

- Tu P, Chi L, Bodnar W, et al. Gut Microbiome Toxicity: Connecting the Environment and Gut Microbiome-Associated Diseases. Toxics. 2020;8(1):19. Published 2020 Mar 12. doi:10.3390/toxics8010019

- Blaser MJ. The Past and Future Biology of the Human Microbiome in an Age of Extinctions. Cell. 2018

- Manor O, Dai CL, Kornilov SA, Smith B, Price ND, Lovejoy JC, Gibbons SM, Magis AT. Health and disease markers correlate with gut microbiome composition across thousands of people. Nat Commun. 2020

- Chichlowski M, Shah N, Wampler JL, Wu SS, Vanderhoof JA. Bifidobacterium longum Subspecies infantis (B. infantis) in Pediatric Nutrition: Current State of Knowledge. Nutrients. 2020;12(6):1581. Published 2020

- https://www.the-scientist.com/features/neanderthal-dna-in-modern-human-genomes-is-not-silent-66299

- https://www.genome.gov/about-genomics/fact-sheets/Genetics-vs-Genomics

- https://www.genome.gov/about-genomics/fact-sheets/Comparative-Genomics-Fact-Sheet

- https://academic.oup.com/jhered/article/108/6/671/3836924

- Satoh, M; Kuroiwa, T (September 1991). "Organization of multiple nucleoids and DNA molecules in mitochondria of a human cell". Experimental Cell Research. 196 (1): 137–140.

- https://www.cancer.gov/news-events/cancer-currents-blog/2020/colorectal-cancer-rising-younger-adults

- Seneff, S. Toxic Legacy: Howe the Weedkiller Glyphosate is Destroying our Health and the Environment. 2021

https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/data.html