Twin study finds that gut microbiomes run in families
Wednesday, May 11, 2016 - 11:01
in Biology & Nature
A genome-wide association analysis of over 1,000 twins in the UK supports that some parts of our microbiomes are inherited and shaped—not through a spread of microbes from parent to child, but through our genes. The results, revealing new examples of heritable bacterial species—including those related to diet preference, metabolism, and immune defense—appear May 11 in Cell Host & Microbe's special issue on the "Genetics and Epigenetics of Host-Microbe Interactions."