Scientists have put forward plans for a microbial “Noah’s ark” to preserve beneficial bugs found in the guts of people living in some of the most remote communities on Earth.
The move to save the microbes is driven by concerns that modern lifestyles are wiping out organisms that have colonised human intestines for millennia and are vital for good health.
The repository would store existing collections of “friendly” germs gathered from people around the world so they could be studied before they disappear. Research on the bugs could potentially lead to new treatments for modern diseases ranging from obesity to diabetes, the scientists believe.
“We want a backup for all of these collections in a safe, neutral country where they can be preserved until we fully understand them,” said Maria Dominguez Bello, a biologist at Rutgers University in New Jersey. “We hypothesise that they perform important, crucial functions and we can’t afford to lose them.”
Published in the journal Science, the proposal calls for a microbial equivalent of the Seed Vault, a secure cavern built into a mountainside on Svalbard Island in Norway where scientists hope to preserve the natural biodiversity of plants. Instead of storing seeds, the microbial vault would hold collections of human stools and the rich mix of microbes that lurk inside.
Studies have shown that people in isolated, traditional communities tend to have far more diverse gut “microbiomes” than those in western and urban populations. For example, the microbiomes of most Americans are half as diverse as those of hunter-gatherers in isolated Amazonian villages. The discrepancy is blamed on a raft of factors, from antibiotics and chlorinated water to antiseptics and caesarean sections.
For more read the full of article at The Guardian
