And yes, you do not doubt you but the bacteria in our intestines are not all first youth : some of them have more than 15 million years ! Well before the emergence of mankind. What has been their evolution?
It is through genetic sequencing of samples of fecal matter monkeys (gorillas, chimpanzees and bonobos) and that of US residents that it was possible to trace the evolution of some bacteria.
A first division took place there is more than 15.6 million years ago, during the divergence of lines between gorillas and hominids ; the second took place there are 5.3 million years, when the human species has differentiated chimpanzees and bonobos.
This discovery was published in the famous journal Science, where researchers point out that some intestinal bacteria of the human being directly descended from those found in our common ancestors with monkeys. This finding means that the intestinal bacteria have evolved with us for millions of years, during the emergence of the African great apes, enabling us to better understand the evolution and adaptation of the intestinal microbiota during different generations depending on the environment.
LC
