"You are not just yourself. You are also the thousands of microbes that
you carry. In fact, they represent an invisible majority that may be
more you than you realize." - Science Daily (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/07/130718142417.htm)
In a study by Robert M. Brucker and Seth R. Bordenstein, recently published in Science, evidence supports the hologenomic theory of evolution, proposing organisms evolve as a result of their individual traits and characterists, and it's associated microbial community. Their study provides the strongest evidence to date, for the hologenomic theory of evolution.
While the hologenomic theory of evolution (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hologenome_theory_of_evolution) remains somewhat controversial, would it not seem obvious that microbial symbiosis would affect evolution, considering that humans are eighty-something percent water, and crawling with microbes? After all, humans are composed from all sorts of symbiotic relationships. Take the mitochondria for example, which are not only symbionts, but endosymbionts. With the exception of chloroplasts in photosynthetic organisms, mitochondria are the only organelles within most every cell of the human body which originated as a separate prokaryotic organism at one time.
Mitochondria are endosymbionts that contain their own DNA and replicate independently of the cell in which it inhabits. It's function is provide energy in the form of adenosine triphosphate, or ATP, to regulate cellular metabolic processes. While this once free-form organism has now been integrated into most every cell in the human body, it still has genetic similarity to bacteria.
Another human process that is almost entirely dependent on microbial communities is the digestive system. Without bacteria breaking down digested food to produce vitamins and minerals for absorption, humans, as well as many other organisms, would die of malnutrition.
There are also bacteria on skin that aid in the protection of infection, and scent. Yes, scent. The microbes on the skin directly affect body odor. The chemistry of the fluids your glands secret with the assistance of bacterial activity, create a particular scent or body odor. And, as science has shown, the odor of an organism influences social interactions and evolution.
In 2012, J. Havlicek and C. Roberts wrote The perfume body-odor complex: an insightful model for gene-culture evolution? (http://pcwww.liv.ac.uk/~scr/pdf/2012_Havlicek_CSiV.pdf), speaking of the olfactory cues providing information for the genetic make-up of an individual, and its linkage to sexual attraction, thus reproduction. While the article doesn't discuss this, I am going to postulate that thought genetic make-up plays a role in the chemicals excreted from the fluids in your body, the types of bacteria metabolizing said chemicals also play a role. It could be assumed, then, that your geographical location affects an individual scent because of the difference in bacteria an individual might be exposed to.
Bringing it back to the original theory of hologenetic evolution, it would seem intuitive to consider microbial influence on evolution throughout time, because organisms are compositions of microbial communities.
In a study by Robert M. Brucker and Seth R. Bordenstein, recently published in Science, evidence supports the hologenomic theory of evolution, proposing organisms evolve as a result of their individual traits and characterists, and it's associated microbial community. Their study provides the strongest evidence to date, for the hologenomic theory of evolution.
While the hologenomic theory of evolution (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hologenome_theory_of_evolution) remains somewhat controversial, would it not seem obvious that microbial symbiosis would affect evolution, considering that humans are eighty-something percent water, and crawling with microbes? After all, humans are composed from all sorts of symbiotic relationships. Take the mitochondria for example, which are not only symbionts, but endosymbionts. With the exception of chloroplasts in photosynthetic organisms, mitochondria are the only organelles within most every cell of the human body which originated as a separate prokaryotic organism at one time.
Mitochondria are endosymbionts that contain their own DNA and replicate independently of the cell in which it inhabits. It's function is provide energy in the form of adenosine triphosphate, or ATP, to regulate cellular metabolic processes. While this once free-form organism has now been integrated into most every cell in the human body, it still has genetic similarity to bacteria.
Another human process that is almost entirely dependent on microbial communities is the digestive system. Without bacteria breaking down digested food to produce vitamins and minerals for absorption, humans, as well as many other organisms, would die of malnutrition.
There are also bacteria on skin that aid in the protection of infection, and scent. Yes, scent. The microbes on the skin directly affect body odor. The chemistry of the fluids your glands secret with the assistance of bacterial activity, create a particular scent or body odor. And, as science has shown, the odor of an organism influences social interactions and evolution.
In 2012, J. Havlicek and C. Roberts wrote The perfume body-odor complex: an insightful model for gene-culture evolution? (http://pcwww.liv.ac.uk/~scr/pdf/2012_Havlicek_CSiV.pdf), speaking of the olfactory cues providing information for the genetic make-up of an individual, and its linkage to sexual attraction, thus reproduction. While the article doesn't discuss this, I am going to postulate that thought genetic make-up plays a role in the chemicals excreted from the fluids in your body, the types of bacteria metabolizing said chemicals also play a role. It could be assumed, then, that your geographical location affects an individual scent because of the difference in bacteria an individual might be exposed to.
Bringing it back to the original theory of hologenetic evolution, it would seem intuitive to consider microbial influence on evolution throughout time, because organisms are compositions of microbial communities.
