Overview
- Published in Nature Communications, the study analyzed more than 4,000 genetically unique rats from four U.S. facilities kept on controlled diets to test reproducible gene–microbe associations.
- Three loci held up across cohorts: St6galnac1 linked to Paraprevotella, a mucin gene region linked to Firmicutes, and the Pip region linked to Muribaculaceae.
- A computational model partitioned each rat’s own genetic effects from those of its cage-mates, revealing that adding social effects boosted total genetic influence by four to eight times.
- Abundance of some Muribaculaceae reflected both direct genetic control and socially transmitted influences, consistent with microbial exchange between cohabitants.
- Researchers say such indirect effects could ripple through social groups and potentially reshape estimates of genetic contributions to health, with mechanistic follow-ups planned and human relevance to be tested.