By: Ximena Garcia
There was an experiment done in Africa with gazelles on whether a difference between having a social life and not could affect if microbiomes grew in their stomachs.
These researchers gave antibiotic shots to gazelles while also leaving some untreated. With time, they observed what animals were more social and which were more solitary. During this experiment, the researchers collected fecal samples of, before, 2-3 weeks after, and 1-3 months after the shot, to see how stomach microbes would change.
Gazelles with a social life were able to gain their microbes back quicker than those who spent time alone. But, they found that this mix of microbes was different.
Fig 2. Graph showed microbes change with time in
gazelles' stomach who were treated vs. ones who weren't
We use antibiotics when we’re sick, where medicine can also wipe out our good microbes that help us with digestion and the immune system. This study shows that being social is beneficial. It could help with recovery, but the new growth microbes will be different than before, who knows, maybe they're even stronger.
Citations:
Brown BRP, Kalema-Zikusoka G, Abrahms B, Macdonald DW, Seidel DP, Lloyd-Smith JO, et al. 2024. Social behaviour mediates the microbiome response to antibiotic treatment in a wild mammal. Proc R Soc B. 291:20241756. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2024.1756
Image from Brown BRP, Kalema-Zikusoka G, Abrahms B, Macdonald DW, Seidel DP, Lloyd-Smith JO, et al. 2024. Social behaviour mediates the microbiome response to antibiotic treatment in a wild mammal. Proc R Soc B. 291:20241756. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2024.1756
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