14 Unknown Gut Bacteria Found in India’s Tribal Communities!
Scientists studying India’s tribal populations have identified 14 previously unknown bacterial species and nearly 200 locally distinct microbial strains, revealing how much of the country’s gut-microbiome diversity remains undocumented.
The research was led by scientists from the BRIC–National Centre for Cell Science in Pune, with collaborators including researchers from Stanford University. The findings were published in the peer-reviewed journal Gut Microbes.
Eight Tribal Communities Studied
Researchers analysed dietary information and faecal samples from 76 healthy adults belonging to eight tribal communities across four geographical regions of India.
The communities included:
Warli from the western coast
Gond and Madia from the Deccan Plateau
Kabui, also known as Rongmei Naga, from the Northeast
Balti, Boto, Brokpa and Purigpa from the Trans-Himalayan region
There May Be No Universal “Healthy Gut”
The findings challenge the assumption that one standard microbiome profile can define a healthy gut for everyone.
Researchers said gut bacteria can differ considerably depending on a person’s diet, geography, environment, lifestyle and cultural practices. An Indian microbiome should therefore not automatically be considered abnormal merely because it differs from reference data developed largely using European or North American populations.
Three Major Bacterial Groups Found Across Communities
Despite regional differences, all eight communities shared three prominent bacterial groups: Segatella, Agathobacter and Faecalibacterium.
Segatella copri, formerly known as Prevotella copri, was especially abundant, accounting for an average of approximately 25% to 47% of the microbial population analysed across the communities.
Dairy and Grain Diets Left a Distinct Signature
The four Trans-Himalayan communities showed higher gut-bacterial diversity than the other groups studied.
Their traditional diets included milk, homemade butter, wheat, barley, rice, vegetables, fruits, berries and tubers. These communities also had higher levels of Bifidobacterium and more microbial genes involved in processing lactose and grain-derived carbohydrates.
However, the study found an association rather than proof that dairy consumption alone caused these differences. Larger and longer-term studies would be required to establish cause and effect.
What This Could Mean for Probiotics
The researchers found that Indian strains of Bifidobacterium adolescentis were genetically different from strains commonly documented in industrialised countries and contained enzymes suited to processing locally consumed foods.
The findings raise questions about applying imported probiotic products and Western microbiome standards universally. They do not, however, prove that imported probiotics are ineffective or that Indian bacterial strains are automatically better.
Why India Needs Its Own Microbiome Map
Researchers believe an India-specific microbiome database could improve future work in nutrition, metabolic disorders and personalised medicine.
It could also support the development of dietary recommendations and probiotic products evaluated specifically for Indian populations rather than relying entirely on Western reference datasets. These remain potential future applications, not immediate clinical treatments arising from this study.
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