Paleomicrobiology: revealing fecal microbiomes of ancient indigenous cultures

Coprolites are fossilized feces that can be used to provide information on the composition of the intestinal microbiota and, as we show, possibly on diet. We analyzed human coprolites from the Huecoid and Saladoid cultures from a settlement on Vieques Island, Puerto Rico. While more is known about t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2014-09, Vol.9 (9), p.e106833-e106833
Main Authors: Cano, Raul J, Rivera-Perez, Jessica, Toranzos, Gary A, Santiago-Rodriguez, Tasha M, Narganes-Storde, Yvonne M, Chanlatte-Baik, Luis, García-Roldán, Erileen, Bunkley-Williams, Lucy, Massey, Steven E
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Archaeology
Bacteria
Bias
Bioinformatics
Biology
Biology and Life Sciences
Corn
Deoxyribonucleic acid
Diet
Digestive system
Digestive tract
DNA
Ecology and Environmental Sciences
Excavation
Fecal microflora
Feces
Feces - microbiology
Feces - parasitology
Fish
Fish parasites
Fossils
Historic artifacts
Humans
Intestinal microflora
Intestine
Microbiology
Microbiomes
Microbiota
Microorganisms
Paleontology
Parasites
Population genetics
Population Groups
Populations
Puerto Rico - ethnology
RNA, Ribosomal, 16S - genetics
Studies
Tropical environment
Tropical environments
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Summary:Coprolites are fossilized feces that can be used to provide information on the composition of the intestinal microbiota and, as we show, possibly on diet. We analyzed human coprolites from the Huecoid and Saladoid cultures from a settlement on Vieques Island, Puerto Rico. While more is known about the Saladoid culture, it is believed that both societies co-existed on this island approximately from 5 to 1170 AD. By extracting DNA from the coprolites, followed by metagenomic characterization, we show that both cultures can be distinguished from each other on the basis of their bacterial and fungal gut microbiomes. In addition, we show that parasite loads were heavy and also culturally distinct. Huecoid coprolites were characterized by maize and Basidiomycetes sequences, suggesting that these were important components of their diet. Saladoid coprolite samples harbored sequences associated with fish parasites, suggesting that raw fish was a substantial component of their diet. The present study shows that ancient DNA is not entirely degraded in humid, tropical environments, and that dietary and/or host genetic differences in ancient populations may be reflected in the composition of their gut microbiome. This further supports the hypothesis that the two ancient cultures studied were distinct, and that they retained distinct technological/cultural differences during an extended period of close proximity and peaceful co-existence. The two populations seemed to form the later-day Taínos, the Amerindians present at the point of Columbian contact. Importantly, our data suggest that paleomicrobiomics can be a powerful tool to assess cultural differences between ancient populations.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0106833