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1. Components of a Neanderthal gut microbiome recovered from fecal sediments from El Salt

   https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-021-01689-y  

   Rampelli S, Turroni S ( February 2021 , Communications biology)

   null (Ed.)

   A comprehensive view of our evolutionary history cannot ignore the ancestral features of our gut microbiota. To provide some glimpse into the past, we searched for human gut microbiome components in ancient DNA from 14 archeological sediments spanning four stratigraphic units of El Salt Middle Paleolithic site (Spain), including layers of unit X, which has yielded well-preserved Neanderthal occupation deposits dating around 50 kya. According to our findings, bacterial genera belonging to families known to be part of the modern human gut microbiome are abundantly represented only across unit X samples, showing that well-known beneficial gut commensals, such as Blautia, Dorea, Roseburia, Ruminococcus, Faecalibacterium and Bifidobacterium already populated the intestinal microbiome of Homo since as far back as the last common ancestor between humans and Neanderthals. 

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2. Highly variable removal of pathogens, antibiotic resistance genes, conventional fecal indicators and human-associated fecal source markers in a pilot-scale stormwater biofilter operated under realistic stormflow conditions

   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2022.118525  

   Rugh, Megyn B. ; Grant, Stanley B. ; Hung, Wei-Cheng ; Jay, Jennifer A. ; Parker, Emily A. ; Feraud, Marina ; Li, Dong ; Avasarala, Sumant ; Holden, Patricia A. ; Liu, Haizhou ; et al ( July 2022 , Water Research)
3. Detection of human fecal pollution in environmental waters using human mitochondrial DNA and correlation with general and human-associated fecal genetic markers

   https://doi.org/10.2166/wh.2019.197  

   Tanvir Pasha, A. B. ; Hinojosa, Jessica ; Phan, Duc ; Lopez, Adrianne ; Kapoor, Vikram ( December 2019 , Journal of Water and Health)

   Abstract Human mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) genetic markers are abundant in sewage and highly human-specific, suggesting a great potential for the environmental application as human fecal pollution indicators. Limited data are available on the occurrence and co-occurrence of human mtDNA with fecal bacterial markers in surface waters, and how the abundance of these markers is influenced by rain events. A 1-year sampling study was conducted in a suburban watershed impacted by human sewage contamination to evaluate the performance of a human mtDNA-based marker along with the bacterial genetic markers for human-associated Bacteroidales (BacHum and HF183) and Escherichia coli. Additionally, the human mtDNA-based assay was correlated with rain events and other markers. The mtDNA marker was detected in 92% of samples (n = 140) with a mean concentration of 2.96 log10 copies/100 ml throughout the study period. Human mtDNA was detected with greater abundance than human-associated Bacteroidales that could be attributed to differences in the decay of these markers in the environment. The abundance of all markers was positively correlated with rain events, and human mtDNA abundance was significantly correlated with various bacterial markers. In general, these results should support future risk assessment for impacted watersheds, particularly those affected by human fecal pollution, by evaluating the performance of these markers during rain events. 

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4. Diet alters rodent fecal pellet size: implications for paleoecological and demographic studies using fecal dimensions

   https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyab098  

   Maurer, Maya ; Peralta Martínez, Karen ; Trevelline, Brian K. ; Tripoli, Domenique ; Dearing, M. Denise ; Derting, Terry ; Martinez Mota, Rodolfo ; Pasch, Bret ; Kohl, Kevin D. ; Zollner, ed., Patrick ( September 2021 , Journal of Mammalogy)

   Measurements of fecal pellet size can provide important information about wild mammals, such as body size and demographic information. Previous studies have not rigorously tested whether diet can confound these measurements. Furthermore, it is unknown whether diet might alter fecal dimensions directly or through changes in animal physiology. Here, we studied three closely related rodent species that differ in natural feeding strategies. Individuals were fed diets that varied in protein and fiber content for 5 weeks. We then measured body size, fecal widths and lengths, and the radius of the large intestine. Diet composition significantly changed fecal widths in all species. High-fiber content significantly increased fecal widths and would cause overestimations of body size if applied to wild feces. Using path analysis, we found that fiber can increase fecal widths both directly and indirectly through increasing the large intestine radius. Protein affected each species differently, suggesting that protein effects vary by species feeding strategy and existing physiology. Overall, diet and large intestine morphology can alter fecal pellet measurements. Studies using fecal measurements therefore must consider these effects in their conclusions.

    

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5. Elevated Fecal Mitochondrial DNA from Symptomatic Norovirus Infections Suggests Potential Health Relevance of Human Mitochondrial DNA in Fecal Source Tracking

   https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.estlett.2c00140  

   Zhu, Kevin J. ; Suttner, Brittany ; Knee, Jackie ; Capone, Drew ; Moe, Christine L. ; Stauber, Christine E. ; Konstantinidis, Kostas T. ; Wallach, Thomas E. ; Pickering, Amy J. ; Brown, Joe ( May 2022 , Environmental Science & Technology Letters)