Healthcare (Commonwealth Union) – The largest investigation into Africa’s gut microbiome has identified previously unknown microbial species and uncovered metagenomes never documented before across multiple locations on the continent.
The research, titled Expanding the Human Gut Microbiome Atlas of Africa, was published recently in Nature, one of the world’s most prestigious scientific journals.
The gut microbiome plays a crucial role in human health, yet limited knowledge of its diversity in Africa has hindered progress in medical research and the development of targeted health interventions.
This study marks a major breakthrough in global gut health research, providing valuable insights into the connections between gut microbiota and diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and obesity.
Researchers successfully mapped high-quality genomes of 1,005 bacterial and 40,135 viral species, significantly enriching existing human gut microbiome databases.
Co-author Professor Scott Hazelhurst, a senior scientist at the Sydney Brenner Institute for Molecular Bioscience (SBIMB) and Professor of Bioinformatics at Wits University’s School of Electrical and Information Engineering indicated that the microbiome’s influence on health is one of the most transformative scientific discoveries of the past 15 years. The gut contains as many bacteria as human cells, with even greater genetic diversity than human DNA.
A well-balanced gut microbiome is essential for overall health, playing a vital role in nutrient absorption, medication processing, maintaining gut barrier integrity, supporting the immune system, and defending against harmful disease-causing pathogens.
Location Influences Gut Health
The study examined participants from diverse regions and lifestyles, including rural farming communities, towns undergoing industrialization, and densely populated urban areas.
Co-author Dr. Luicer Ingasia Olubayo of SBIMB indicated that this aspect has rarely been explored in microbiome research. they now understand that geography significantly influences microbiome composition, with certain microbial species flourishing in rural environments while others are more prevalent in industrialized settings.
The absence of beneficial gut microbes in urban environments highlights the impact of food deserts on microbiome health.
Notably, researchers found that Treponema, a key bacterial species, was missing in urban participants. This disappearance is likely linked to factors such as urbanization, excessive antibiotic use, and the prevalence of food deserts.
Food deserts are areas where inexpensive, high-calorie processed foods are widely available, while fresh, nutritious options remain scarce and costly. As a result, people living in these areas face an increased risk of conditions like diabetes, heart disease, and obesity.
“Interestingly, in Burkina Faso, where a traditional lifestyle is led, there are more diverse gut microbiota associated with healthier strains of bacteria. Burkina Faso is not without its health challenges, particularly a high burden of infectious diseases. But people are eating more healthily,” added Hazelhurst.
Unique Microbiome Profiles in Different Populations
Research in low- and middle-income countries, as well as non-industrialized communities like hunter-gatherer groups, reveals that their gut microbiomes differ significantly from those found in high-income populations studied in medical research.
The Need for Region-Specific Health Strategies
With Africa’s remarkable genetic diversity, the study underscores the necessity of incorporating African genomic data into scientific and medical research.
Professor Michèle Ramsay, Director of SBIMB indicated that Africa remains underrepresented in microbiome studies, but this new data confirms that healthcare and precision medicine must be tailored to specific locations and populations—there is no universal approach to gut health.
Although this research is a major step forward, it includes only four countries, representing just a small portion of Africa’s extensive ecological and cultural diversity.
Additionally, the study’s findings on HIV emphasize the crucial role of researching microorganisms associated with human health.
“This research also underscores the need to include low-and-middle-income countries in global microbiome studies for more representative and applicable results,” explained Olubayo.
“A defining feature of the study was the transformative potential of a collaborative and community-engaged research framework,” said the co-author Dr Ovokeraye Oduaran from the SBIMB.
