Cited by 257Gut microbiota and healthAnimal Behavior and ReproductionEvolution and Genetic Dynamics

Gut microbiome heritability is nearly universal but environmentally contingent

Open access
Grieneisen, Laura, Dasari, Mauna, Gould, Trevor J., Björk, Johannes R., Grenier, Jean-Christophe, Yotova, Vania, Jansen, David, Gottel, Neil +13 more·2021·Science

Abstract

Baboons inform on human gut microbiota: Commensal bacteria are found throughout an organism, but it is not known whether associations between gut bacteria and their host are heritable. Grieneisen et al.examined changes in the microbiomes of 585 wild baboons from fecal samples collected over 14 years (see the Perspective by Cortes-Ortiz and Amato). Almost all microbiome traits tested demonstrated some level of statistically significant heritability. Most heritability values were low but varied over time correlating with the age of the host. Baboons live in an environment similar to that postulated for early humans and have a microbiome similar to that of humans. Thus, this heritability of the microbiome may reflect similar genetic determinants in humans, for which similar datasets are not available. Science, aba5483, this issue p.181; see also abj5287, p.159

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  • 97% of the gut microbiota in monkeys exhibited significant heritability (h2).

    “For instance, a study published in Science demonstrated that 97 % of the gut microbiota in monkeys exhibited significant heritability (h²), identifying the microbiome as a heritable host phenotype [21].”

    From The hidden genetic and microbial networks connecting neuropsychiatric and digestive disorders (2025) · cites this paper as [21]

    The “Genetic effects on the gut microbiome are near-universal” section reports significant heritability in 97% of single-taxon and community phenotypes in baboons. The claim describes that figure as 97% of the gut microbiota, but the paper reports 93% for single-taxon phenotypes and 95% for presence/absence phenotypes; the 97% figure does not apply to all gut microbes. (LLM, conf=0.86)

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Research works printed but not linked: 7

  1. [14]Alberts SC, Altmann J, in Long-Term Field Studies of Primates, Kappeler PM, Watts DP, Eds. (Springer Berlin Heidelberg, Berlin, Heidelberg, 2012), pp. 261– 287.
  2. [23]Gilmour AR, in Proceedings of the Association for the Advancement of Animal Breeding and Genetics (1997), vol. 12, pp. 386– 390.
  3. [40]Alberts SC, in Primate Seasonality: Implications for Human Evolution, Van Schaik DKBACP, Ed. (2005), pp. 157– 196.
  4. [41]Ren T, Grieneisen LE, Alberts SC, Archie EA, Wu M, Development, diet and dynamism: longitudinal and cross-sectional predictors of gut microbial communities in wild baboons. Environ. Microbiol 18, 1312– 1325 (2015). 25818066 PMC5941927
  5. [43]Alberts SC, Altmann J, in Long-Term Field Studies of Primates, Kappeler PM, Watts DP, Eds. (Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 2012), 12, pp. 261– 287.
  6. [50]Altmann SA, Foraging for survival: yearling baboons in Africa (University of Chicago Press, 1998).
  7. [82]Harrell FE Jr, Dupont MC, The Hmisc Package. R package version. 3, 3 (2006).

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Authors
Grieneisen, L., Dasari, M., Gould, T. J., Björk, J. R., Grenier, J.-C., Yotova, V., Jansen, D., Gottel, N., Gordon, J. B., Learn, N. H., Gesquiere, L. R., Wango, T. L., Mututua, R. S., Warutere, J. K., Siodi, L., Gilbert, J. A., Barreiro, L. B., Alberts, S. C., Tung, J., Archie, E. A., & Blekhman, R.
Affiliations
  • University of Minnesota (US)
  • University of Notre Dame (US)
  • Montreal Heart Institute (CA)
  • CHU Sainte-Justine Research Center (CA)
  • Scripps Institution of Oceanography (US)
  • Duke University (US)
  • Princeton University (US)
  • University of Nairobi (KE)
  • Amboseli Baboon Research Project, Amboseli National Park, Kenya.
  • University of Chicago (US)
  • Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CA)
Corresponding author
  • Grieneisen, Laura
  • Tung, Jenny
  • Archie, Elizabeth A.
  • Blekhman, Ran
Venue
Science
Published
2021-07-09
Volume
373
Issue
6551
Pages
181-186
ISSN
  • 0036-8075 (ISSN-L)
  • 1095-9203
OpenAlex
W3181021006
Cited by
243
References
124
Citations by year
2026: 28 · 2025: 33 · 2024: 50 · 2023: 62 · 2022: 57 · 2021: 13
FWCI
15.52
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Science (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • National Science Foundation (DEB 1840223, IOS 1456832, IOS 1053461, DEB 1405308, IOS 0919200, DEB 0846286, DEB 0846532, IBN 0322781, IBN 0322613, BCS 0323553, BCS 0323596, NSF DEB 1840223)
  • National Institutes of Health (R01HD088558, R21AG049936, R03AG045459, NIH R21 AG055777, R01 AG053330, R21 AG055777, NIH R01 AG053330, R35 GM128716, P01AG031719, R01AG034513, NIGMS R35 GM128716)
  • University of Minnesota Grand Challenges in Biology Postdoctoral Fellowship
  • National Institute on Aging (R03AG045459, R21AG049936, R21 AG055777, P01AG031719, R01AG034513)
  • National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (R01HD088558)
  • Duke University (P2C-HD065563)
  • Duke University Population Research Institute (P2C-HD065563)
  • National Institute of General Medical Sciences (R35 GM128716)
  • Princeton Center for the Demography of Aging (P30AG024361)
  • Princeton University (P30AG024361)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Gut microbiota and health
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Animal Behavior and Reproduction
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Evolution and Genetic Dynamics
Keywords
gut microbiota, heritability, host genetics, baboons, shared environment, dietary diversity, seasonal variation, host-microbiome coevolution, wild primates
MeSH terms
Bacillota, Gastrointestinal Microbiome, Aging, Animals, Bacteria, Diet, Environment, Feces, Female, Genotype, Humans, Male, Papio, Phenotype, Seasons, Social Behavior, Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes

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