Gut Microbes Can Split a Species

sciencehabit writes "The community of microbes in an animal's gut may be enough to turn the creature into a different species. Species usually split when their members become so genetically distinct — usually by living in separate environments that cause them to evolve different adaptations (think finches on different islands) — that they can no longer successfully breed with each other. Now researchers have shown that a couple groups of wasps have become new species not because their DNA has changed, but because the bacteria in their guts have changed — the first example of this type of speciation."

What makes a human

[manu0601]

Gut microbes influence is not surprising when you consider a human being is made more of gut microbes (10^14) than human cells (10^13). We even saw recently a paper about horizontal gene transfers between gut microbes and human cells [bytesizebio.net], so perhaps we will have to consider a human being is mostly made of its guts microbes.

Reminds me of Wolbachia

[reve_etrange]

Wolbachia is a bacterial genus believed to infect up to ~90% of all insect species. It spreads rapidly through populations by allowing infected females to breed with any individual while infected males can only breed with infected females (the bacteria is passed on mother-to-child). Furthermore, many species actually depend on Wolbachia to become sexually viable, and in a few the bacteria actually induce the insects to undergo parthenogenesis (reproduction with females only).

Even now, Wolbachia is migrating north through California's fruit fly population. Last year I heard it had reached the Sacramento area.