Biologists home in on paleo gut for clues to our evolutionary history

A new study of the gut microbiomes of humans, chimps, bonobos and gorillas shows that at least two major groups of bacteria have cospeciated with these hosts, with a lineage going back at least 15 million years to our last common ancestor. Researchers hope to reconstruct the ancestral ‘paleo gut’ that went with our paleo diet, and use the gut bacteria to track human migration.