Genes May Influence Body's Bacteria - Science News

51 different human genetic variants are associated with the relative abundance of certain bacteria living in or on 15 body sites. Some of those genetic variants and the microbes they were associated with have also been linked to diseases. People with a genetic variant near the PCSK2 gene, which is involved in producing insulin, have more Bacteroides bacteria in their intestines, Blekhman reported May 9 at the Biology of Genomes meeting. That same genetic variant has been linked to type 2 diabetes. So has an overabundance of Bacteroides.