研究人员在人类肠道微生物群中发现了反刍球菌物种，它们组装的功能性多酶纤维素体结构能够降解植物细胞壁多糖。其中一个物种与人类密切相关，很可能起源于反刍动物肠道，随后转移到人类肠道，可能是在驯化过程中，通过从其他肠道微生物获取基因，经历了多样化和与饮食相关的适应过程。
总体而言，这些物种在古人类、狩猎采集者和农村人口中大量存在且分布广泛，但在工业化社会的人口中却很少见，这表明这些物种可能会因西方化的生活方式而消失。
研究人员表示，人类和所有哺乳动物一样，依赖肠道微生物群来消化植物纤维的主要成分纤维素。然而，人类肠道纤维素发酵的证据却很少。
附：英文原文
Title: Cryptic diversity of cellulose-degrading gut bacteria in industrialized humans
Author: Sarah Moras, Sarah Winkler, Alvah Zorea, Liron Levin, Falk S. P. Nagies, Nils Kapust, Eva Lamed, Avital Artan-Furman, David N. Bolam, Madhav P. Yadav, Edward A. Bayer, William F. Martin, Itzhak Mizrahi
Issue&Volume: 2024-03-15
Abstract: Humans, like all mammals, depend on the gut microbiome for digestion of cellulose, the main component of plant fiber. However, evidence for cellulose fermentation in the human gut is scarce. We have identified ruminococcal species in the gut microbiota of human populations that assemble functional multienzymatic cellulosome structures capable of degrading plant cell wall polysaccharides. One of these species, which is strongly associated with humans, likely originated in the ruminant gut and was subsequently transferred to the human gut, potentially during domestication where it underwent diversification and diet-related adaptation through the acquisition of genes from other gut microbes. Collectively, these species are abundant and widespread among ancient humans, hunter-gatherers, and rural populations but are rare in populations from industrialized societies thus indicating potential disappearance in response to the westernized lifestyle.
DOI: adj9223
Source: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adj9223