PubMed · 2026-07-09
Tribal communities in India that regularly eat dairy and diverse cereals have richer, more varied gut microbiomes than those who don't, with certain bacteria evolving specifically to digest grain and dairy compounds. Some community members show signs that globalization is already shifting their gut communities toward patterns seen in industrialized populations.
Four Trans-Himalayan communities with dairy- and cereal-rich diets had elevated gut bacterial diversity driven by abundant Bifidobacterium, largely absent from other populations
Segatella copri (formerly Prevotella copri) dominated gut microbiomes across all eight communities at 25-47% relative abundance
Bifidobacterium adolescentis strains in dairy-consuming groups were genetically distinct from industrialized strains worldwide, carrying digestive enzymes consistent with long-term selection by grain and dairy consumption