Convergent evolution of metabolic functions: Evidence from the gut microbiomes of humans and dogs
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Dogs have undergone convergent evolution in their genome with humans in long-term co-living. Studies have shown that the gut microbiomes of dogs exhibit greater similarity to those of humans compared to mice and pigs. In our study, we first compared the gut microbiomes of macaques, three dog groups, and two wolf groups to those in humans. Results showed that gut microbiomes in dogs have undergone convergent evolution with those in humans. Functional enrichment analysis revealed that dogs exhibit the strongest carbohydrate metabolism ability compared to other hosts including starch and sucrose metabolism. Working dogs and pet dogs showed distinct functional specialization in metabolism and human disease. We suggest that dogs could serve as a potential model for research related to human gut microbial responses to human health, disease, and environmental changes.
Source: iMetaOmics.
DOI: 10.1002/imo2.70059
Authors: Xiaoyang Wang, Lei Zhu, Yue Lan, Guimei Li, Tong Zhou, Qingguo Huang, Tifei Yuan, Chen Tian, Zhenxin Fan, Zhigang Zhang, Guo‐Dong Wang
Institutions: Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming Medical University, Peking University Cancer Hospital, Sichuan University, Ministry of Public Security of the People's Republic of China, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Yunnan University
Language: English
Topic: Gut microbiota and health
Subfield: Molecular Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4415418849