Comparisons among Yanomami populations reveal transitional gut microbiome configurations under urban influence

Bicho-Acu, the most urban-influenced Yanomami population, shows a broadly Yanomami-associated gut microbiome but with urban-linked increases in Bacteroides and glycosaminoglycan degradation and secondary bile acid biosynthesis genes.

• Why it matters: Urbanization alters gut microbiomes, but it remains unclear which microbial features shift most consistently across increasing urban exposure within human populations.
• What they did: The study compared gut shotgun metagenomes from three geographically distinct Yanomami populations spanning urban influence and an urban Belgian cohort, using taxonomic, functional, co-occurrence network, and carbohydrate-active enzyme profiling.
• The result: Genus-level co-occurrence network connectivity declines progressively with increasing urban influence, while Belgium shows stronger non-starch-polysaccharide signals and Xamakorona shows resistant-starch-associated features, supporting transitional microbiome configurations.