Clues about human evolution evolve

UNEXPECTED clues about human evolution and health from reconstructing the oral microbiomes of Neanderthals, primates and humans have been discovered in new study by a multidisciplinary international research team, including UCT biological anthropologist Associate Professor Victoria Gibbon.

Titled “The evolution and changing ecology of the African hominid oral microbiome”, they investigated the evolutionary history of the hominid oral microbiome by analysing fossilised dental plaque of humans and Neanderthals spanning the past 100 000 years and comparing it to those of wild chimpanzees, gorillas and howler monkeys.

Despite oral microbiome differences, researchers identified 10 core bacterial types maintained within the human lineage for over 40 million years. The team discovered a high degree of similarity between Neanderthals and humans, including an apparent Homo-specific acquisition of starch digestion capability in oral streptococci, suggesting that the bacteria adapted to a dietary change that occurred in a common ancestor.

“This study is the first of many of its kind to follow,” Gibbon said. “The ability to analyse the diets of ancient peoples at this level has the potential to answer many questions around past peoples and their lifeways across Africa and within South Africa. The research outcomes from the study are exciting but they are just the beginning,” she said.

Researchers from 41 institutions in 13 countries contributed to the study, making this the largest and most ambitious study of the ancient oral microbiome to date.