A recent study by Communications Biology explores how the gut microbiome may play a role in animal domestication by influencing behavior. Using foxes from the Belyaev Farm-Fox Experiment, researchers compared gut bacteria between “tame” foxes (friendly toward humans) and “aggressive” foxes.
They found that tame foxes had lower gut microbial diversity and a reduction in bacteria linked to fear and aggression. Additionally, the microbiome of tame foxes showed enrichment in pathways like glutamate degradation, which is important because glutamate is a neurotransmitter involved in brain signaling and behavior.
Since all foxes were raised in the same environment and given identical diets, these differences suggest that behavioral selection (tameness vs aggression) is linked to changes in the gut microbiome, not just genetics or environment. The study highlights the importance of the microbiota–gut–brain axis, a system where gut microbes can influence brain function through metabolites, immune signaling, and even gene expression.
I think this is really interesting because we usually think behavior is controlled only by genes or the brain, but this shows that bacteria in your gut might also play a role. It kind of changes how we think about evolution and domestication—not just as changes in DNA, but also changes in the microbiome.
Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-026-09717-5
Additional Source: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/25201-gut-microbiome
Aanya,
ReplyDeleteThis post is super informative; I never would have guessed that an organisms gut microbiome could impact their behaviors. This post just makes me realize that there is a reason behind everything in that happens to the human body. We know that the environment and DNA shapes us to who we are but it is very cool to know that bacteria in the gut is able to impact behavior.
Brooke
The brain-gut axis supplies nearly 90% of the body's serotonin in humans, making gut regulation essential for emotional regulation. I never considered the impact this parallel to animals would have on domestication.
ReplyDeleteThis was a really interesting post that sent me on a unique thought train I didn't think I'd be having, but. If these bacteria live in your gut, chances are they are reliant on the food you eat and send to your stomach to survive. Therefore, the more you eat, the more nutrients available, the more the bacteria will grow, and the more your behavior will change. Similiar to an algae bloom causing a mass die-off, if you go hungry, the bacteria population will lower. Therefore, everyone has sort of an equilibrium based off their eating habits where the bacteria in your gut roughly averages out. That is you. You are not you when you are hungry, snickers was right. As the amount of bacteria decreases as you starve, so does your behavior. But, the inverse is also true; as you eat, the amount of bacteria increases, and you change. Therefore, you are not you when you are hungry, and you are not you when you are full. Therefore: you are not you.
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