Baboon Gut Microbes Shed Light on Aging and Microbiome Clocks.

Age is typically measured by the number of years a person has lived, but researchers are increasingly focusing on biological age—an indicator of how the body is actually aging, which can differ greatly due to factors like diet, genetics, and lifestyle. One promising avenue for tracking biological age involves the gut microbiome—the trillions of microbes living in our digestive system.

In 2015, Mauna Dasari, then a graduate student in microbial ecology at the University of Notre Dame, began investigating whether these gut microbes could be used to predict age. Her focus was on baboons, which share key developmental similarities with humans. By analyzing thousands of fecal samples from wild baboons, Dasari and her team created a microbiome clock capable of predicting the animals' ages with remarkable accuracy—a median error of just two years. This outperformed existing human-based microbiome clocks, which typically have errors ranging from six to eleven years. The findings, published in eLife, could lead to better strategies for promoting healthy aging and increasing both lifespan and healthspan.

The team’s data came from nearly 14,000 samples collected over 14 years from 479 wild baboons, part of the long-running Amboseli Baboon Research Project in East Africa. Interestingly, these samples were originally gathered for hormone studies, making the microbiome research an unexpected offshoot. Using machine learning and computational tools, the researchers examined 1,440 microbiome features to estimate chronological age and observed distinct microbial changes across life stages. They found that gut microbial diversity was higher during early and late life, while certain microbial groups became more dominant with age.

Tracking the same baboons over time allowed the researchers to correlate microbiome changes with life events and environmental stressors. For instance, male baboons tended to have microbiomes that appeared older than their actual age—a finding consistent with the notion that male mammals age faster than females. Social status also played a role: high-ranking baboons showed signs of older microbiomes, whereas lower-ranking ones had comparatively younger microbial profiles, possibly due to differences in food availability. Seasonal changes had an impact too; female baboons exhibited signs of accelerated microbiome aging during dry seasons, likely tied to nutritional stress.

Despite its precision, the microbiome clock was not predictive of key life outcomes such as maturity or survival, suggesting it reflects present conditions rather than long-term aging trends. Dasari and her team now hope to explore how microbiome age aligns with other biological aging markers and whether it can eventually be used to estimate total lifespan.

External experts were impressed by the scale of the research. Baptiste Sadoughi, a primatologist at Arizona State University, praised the study's scope, noting that most wildlife studies typically analyze just a few thousand samples, far fewer than the 14,000 used here.

Though the baboon microbiome clock cannot yet be directly applied to humans due to interspecies differences, the work opens the door to identifying universal microbial markers of aging. Dasari emphasizes the importance of microbiome diversity in healthy aging and suggests that fecal transplants, rather than short-term probiotics, may offer a more effective way to rejuvenate aging microbiomes. Earlier studies in mice have shown that transferring gut microbes from young to old animals can reverse signs of aging.

Reflecting on the project, Dasari noted, “The fact that we can go back in our freezers and use 14 years’ worth of baboon poop to explore a whole new aspect of aging is truly amazing.”

Source:https://www.the-scientist.com/microbes-in-baboon-poop-offer-clues-into-aging-73066

This is non-financial/medical advice and made using AI so could be wrong.