Matthew He
9 March 2014
Written by Marie Ellis
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/273386.php
Summary: Scientists have excavated uncovered latrines dating back to the 1300s in Belgium. After the specimen was carefully collected, the team carefully analyzed the substance, finding phages, or viruses, rather than Eukaryotes like plants or fungi. They compared the fossilized sample's DNA virome with the viromes of 21 modern human stool specimens and found that many of the viral sequences were related to viruses known today to infect bacteria in stools. This demonstrates how the human gastrointestinal tract has remained unchanged after so many centuries, even in the wake of changing diets and conditions. It also supports the theory that the viral community plays a vital role in the human gut and human health in general. Of the genes found in the phage, the team found antibiotic resistance genes and genes resistant to toxic compounds, which is a normal part of life, as toxins and antibiotics are common in nature.
Connection: This is a direct relation to bacteria, and especially bacteria with resistant properties. For our term lab, we discussed the properties of natural antibiotics as an alternative to antibiotic resistant bacteria. However this discovery shows that resistance isn't always fostered by overuse of antibiotics, as there were none in the 1300s. However, it connects the principles of genetic variation and shows that viruses and phages helped humans, and haven't changed much in 700 years. The evidence demonstrates that indeed viruses and phages play an important role in human health, as the fact that they haven't changed shows that in some way the viruses must play a positive role in some way to the human gut.
Why would the human gastrointestinal tract have remained unchanged for so many centuries, even when conditions and diets were changing?
ReplyDeleteWhat sort of antibiotics were found in the phage? What bacteria was it effective against?
ReplyDelete