1. The Inuit microbiome has a community composition similar to that of the Western microbiome.
The Inuit microbiome has a community composition similar to that of the Western microbiome. (A and C) Montreal and Nunavut microbiomes cluster together, regardless of diet, based on principal coordinates analysis of unweighted (A) and weighted (C) UniFrac distances computed from open-reference OTUs (see Materials and Methods). Gap statistics analyses identified only one cluster, showing that the two populations overlap at the overall microbial community level. (See Fig. S4A and B for additional distance metrics.) (B and D) Montreal and Nunavut microbiomes cluster with other Western microbiomes sampled in other studies. Interstudy comparisons were performed with unweighted (B) and weighted (D) UniFrac distances computed from closed-reference OTU tables to limit interstudy variability. Binning samples by traditional agrarian/hunter-gatherer populations (Burkina Fason, Tanzania, Venezuela) and Western populations (United States, Italy, Montreal, Nunavut) explains 6.5% and 10.5% of the variation in the combined data sets (adonis; P < 0.001) for unweighted and weighted UniFrac data, respectively.
Catherine Girard et al. mSphere 2017; doi: /mSphere