Examining the power of host social interactions in bacterial evolution

Previous research in both humans and animals has demonstrated that individuals in a social setting who share the same space tend to have a more similar composition of microbiota. When hosts live together in the same household, there is an increased transmission of microbes between them, resulting in similar species inhabiting their gut. However, it has remained unclear whether this microbial transmission affects the evolution of gut bacteria.

In order to address this knowledge gap, a recently published study in Molecular Biology and Evolution utilized an innovative in vivo experimental evolution approach. The study revealed that hosts living in the same household have an average transmission rate of 7% of E. coli cells per day. Based on a theoretical population genetics model, this high transmission rate led to a significant level of shared evolutionary events in the co-housed mice. Interestingly, the rate of mutation accumulation in E. coli was found to be the same regardless of the social context of the hosts.

This groundbreaking study is the first to provide evidence that hosts who share the same diet and habits are likely to have a similar composition of microbiome species, as well as comparable bacterial evolutionary dynamics. These findings highlight the crucial role of bacterial transmission among hosts in shaping the adaptive evolution of new strains that colonize the gut microbiomes.

Nelson Frazão, the lead author of the study, emphasizes the significance of these discoveries, stating, “Our research provides compelling evidence that social interactions and shared environments are integral to the evolution of gut bacteria. Understanding these dynamics sheds new light on the interplay between human or animal health and social interactions.”

The findings by the research team, led by Isabel Gordo, principal investigator at the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, open up new avenues for further studies on the complex relationship between social interactions, intestinal bacteria, and human health.

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