Cited by 886Gut microbiota and healthMicrobial Community Ecology and PhysiologyOral microbiology and periodontitis research

Seasonal cycling in the gut microbiome of the Hadza hunter-gatherers of Tanzania

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Smits, Samuel A., Leach, Jeff, Sonnenburg, Erica D., Gonzalez, Carlos G., Lichtman, Joshua S., Reid, Gregor, Knight, Rob, Manjurano, Alphaxard +4 more·2017·Science

Abstract

Seasonal diets, seasonal microbiota: Among the Hadza of western Tanzania, a few hundred people still live in small groups as hunter-gatherers, reliant solely on the wild environment for food. Smits et al. found that the microbiota of these people reflects the seasonal availability of different types of food (see the Perspective by Peddada). Between seasons, striking differences were observed in their gut microbial communities, with some taxa apparently disappearing, only to reappear when the seasons turned. Further comparison of the Hadza microbiota with that of diverse urbanized peoples revealed distinctly different patterns of microbial community composition. Science , this issue p. 802 ; see also p. 754

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Crossref · 10.1126/science.aan4834

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  • A change from the ancestral hunter-gatherer diet to a diet that is similar across seasons and significantly less varied is another likely contributor to reduced diversity of the microbiomes of individuals living in urbanized-industrialized communities.

    “A change from the ancestral hunter–gatherer diet, where foods consumed changed seasonally and a wide variety of food components were eaten, to a diet that is similar across seasons and significantly less varied, is another likely contributor to reduced diversity of the microbiomes of individuals living in”

    From Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: An Evolutionary Adaptation to Lifestyle and the Environment (2022) · cites this paper as [131]

    The paper describes seasonal changes in Hadza food consumption and reports lower gut-microbiome diversity in urban populations than in traditional populations (Abstract; no page supplied). It also suggests that limited plant-derived complex carbohydrates characterize modernized microbiomes. It does not establish that industrialized diets are similar across seasons or significantly less varied, or directly test that proposed dietary transition as the cause of reduced diversity. (LLM, conf=0.84)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • The data suggest that carbohydrate degradation by participants' microbiota was insufficient to process the increased fiber consumption, consistent with analyses of industrialized microbiomes.

    “These data suggest the carbohydrate degradation by participants’ microbiota was insufficient to process the increased fiber consumption, consistent with analyses of industrialized microbiome (Smits et al., 2017; Vangay et al., 2018).”

    From Gut-microbiota-targeted diets modulate human immune status (2021) · cites this paper as Smits et al., 2017

  • The microbiota of the Tanzanian Hadza tribe reflects the seasonality of their diet, with food type and availability affected by distinct dry and wet seasons.

    “The microbiota of these hunter-gathers were shown to reflect the seasonality of their diet, with food type and availability affected by distinct dry and wet seasons.”
  • Between seasons, the Hadza gut microbiota displays a considerable shift in composition with cyclical features, with a number of taxa undetectable one season reappearing the next.

    “Between seasons, a considerable shift in gut microbiota composition with cyclical features was displayed, with a number of taxa undetectable one season shown to reappear the next [76].”
  • The level of microbial resilience can be unique to a host's gut microbiota, with some able to return to their original state after a perturbation, and others establishing a new, possibly pathological, profile.

    “The level of microbial resilience can also be unique to a host’s gut microbiota, with some able to return to their original state after a perturbation, and others establishing a new, possibly pathological, profile [76].”

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Research works printed but not linked: 1

  1. [20]Marlowe F The Hadza: hunter-gatherers of Tanzania Origins of human behavior and culture University of California Press Berkeley 2010

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Authors
Smits, S. A., Leach, J., Sonnenburg, E. D., Gonzalez, C. G., Lichtman, J. S., Reid, G., Knight, R., Manjurano, A., Changalucha, J., Elias, J. E., Dominguez-Bello, M. G., & Sonnenburg, J. L.
Affiliations
  • Stanford Medicine (US)
  • St Thomas' Hospital (GB)
  • Western University (CA)
  • University of California San Diego (US)
  • National Institute for Medical Research (TZ)
  • School of Medicine and Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY, USA.
Corresponding author
  • Smits, Samuel A.
  • Leach, Jeff
  • Sonnenburg, Justin L.
Venue
Science
Published
2017-08-25
Volume
357
Issue
6353
Pages
802-806
ISSN
  • 0036-8075 (ISSN-L)
  • 1095-9203
OpenAlex
W2750417371
Cited by
886
References
58
Citations by year
2026: 62 · 2025: 83 · 2024: 78 · 2023: 98 · 2022: 131 · 2021: 136 · 2020: 130 · 2019: 90 · 2018: 68 · 2017: 8
FWCI
33.19
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Science (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion)
  • Scholarship@Western (Western University) (submittedVersion)
Funders
National Institutes of Health (R01-DK085025, R01-DK090989)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Gut microbiota and health
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Microbial Community Ecology and Physiology
  • Health Sciences › Dentistry › Periodontics › Oral microbiology and periodontitis research
Keywords
gut microbiota, seasonal variation, modernization, microbial diversity
MeSH terms
Gastrointestinal Microbiome, Ethnicity, Feces, Humans, Life Style, Seasons, Tanzania

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