Heart disease is the leading cause of death in zoo gorillas yet its origins remain unclear. Researchers from the University of Minnesota alongside national and international collaborators investigated the gut microbiome’s role in cardiovascular health. Their findings recently published in Nature Biofilms and Microbiomes could offer new insights into addressing heart disease in both gorillas and humans.

In the largest study of its kind the team analyzed gut microbiome composition and function in gorillas with and without heart disease across several U.S. zoos as well as those with unknown health statuses in European zoos. They also examined wild gorillas from the Central African Republic who do not develop the disease highlighting potential microbiome-related factors in cardiovascular health.

Key findings from the study include:

Gorillas in U.S. and European zoos had markedly different gut microbiomes compared to wild gorillas in Central Africa likely due to differences in environment and diet.
Gorillas with heart disease exhibited lower gut microbiome diversity than their healthy counterparts.
The gut microbiomes of gorillas with heart disease had a reduced ability to produce beneficial compounds and contained bacteria associated with poor intestinal health.
Captive gorillas had more diverse gut microbiomes than wild gorillas, likely due to varied diets in zoos. However, those with heart disease still showed reduced microbiome diversity and a lower ability to metabolize their food effectively.

Andres Gomez associate professor in the Department of Animal Science highlighted the significance of the findings: Since gorillas are among our closest relatives after chimpanzees this study suggests that lifestyle and diet have played a major role in shaping the gut microbiome throughout human evolution potentially influencing modern diseases like heart disease and other so-called diseases of civilization.

The researchers aim to expand their study to additional locations to identify more specific markers of compromised intestinal health. They also plan to investigate the dietary environmental and individual factors that influence the microbiomes of zoo gorillas.

The discovery that gut microbiome alterations extend beyond gastrointestinal conditions to diseases like cardiovascular disease reinforces the importance of gut health for overall well-being said Gomez. This connection has also been observed in neurological reproductive immune and mental health disorders.

This research was a collaborative effort between the University of Minnesota the Great Ape Heart Project the Detroit Zoological Society the University of Nebraska the University of Massachusetts Amherst the Czech Academy of Sciences and the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague.

The study was supported by the Czech-American Scientific Cooperation Minnesota’s Agricultural Research Education Extension and Technology Transfer Program and the Ministry of Education Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic.

source: https://twin-cities.umn.edu/news-events/research-brief-study-shows-gorillas-heart-disease-have-altered-gut-microbiomes