Seasonal cycling in the gut microbiome of the Hadza hunter-gatherers of Tanzania

TLDR

The Hadza hunter‑gatherers of western Tanzania live in small groups and rely solely on wild foods, leading to seasonal diets that shape their gut microbiota. Their gut microbiota shifts markedly with seasonal food availability, with taxa disappearing and reappearing across seasons, and differs distinctly from urbanized populations. Smits et al., Science, this issue, pp.

Abstract

Seasonal diets, seasonal microbiota Among the Hadza of western Tanzania, a few hundred people still live in small groups as hunter-gatherers, reliant solely on the wild environment for food. Smits et al. found that the microbiota of these people reflects the seasonal availability of different types of food (see the Perspective by Peddada). Between seasons, striking differences were observed in their gut microbial communities, with some taxa apparently disappearing, only to reappear when the seasons turned. Further comparison of the Hadza microbiota with that of diverse urbanized peoples revealed distinctly different patterns of microbial community composition. Science , this issue p. 802 ; see also p. 754