Biology subjects

Gonzalez-Santoyo, I.

Publications and source records attributed to Gonzalez-Santoyo, I..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2020

We think what we eat: Animal-based diet influences cerebral and microbiota networks connectivity in early ages. A study case of an indigenous community in Mexico.

We are not individuals, we are much better described as ecosystems due to trillions of bacteria and other microorganisms that inhabit us. We now know that gut microbiota can greatly influence many physiological parameters that in turn may impact several cognitive functions, such as learning, memory, and decision making processes. This mutualistic symbiotic relation known as the gut-brain axis is also constrained by external factors such as dietary habits such as animal protein and lipids intake. Using a novel combination of Machine Learning and Network Theory techniques, we provide evidence from an indigenous population in Guerrero Mexico, that both brain and gut-microbiota connectivity, evaluated by Minimum Spanning Tree as the critical backbone of information flow, diminish under either low protein or lipids intake. We discuss then how this loss of connectivity may translate into a reduction of the individuals capacity to cope with perturbations as loss of connectivity may be linked with losses in antifragility.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2019

Human gut microbiota networks disturbance by parasites in indigenous communities: Effect on bacteria genera related to depression incidence subnetworks

If you think you are in control of your behavior, think again. Evidence suggests that behavioral modifications, as development and persistence of depression, may be the consequence of a complex network of communication between macro (i.e. parasites) and micro-organisms capable of modifying the physiological axis of the host. Some parasites cause significant nutritional deficiencies for the host and impair the effectiveness of cognitive processes such as memory, teaching or non-verbal intelligence. Bacterial communities mediate the establishment of parasites and vice versa but this complexity approach remains little explored. We study the gut microbiota-parasite interactions using novel techniques of network analysis using data of individuals from two indigenous communities in the state of Guerrero, Mexico. Our results suggest that A. Lumbricoides, induce a gut microbiota perturbation affecting subnetworks of key species related to depression, consisting in the loss of network features such as path length, heterogeneity, number of nodes and neighbors; and especially by the loss of information emergence. Emergence is related with adaptability that has been linked to the concept of health as a critical balance between (adaptability) and self-organization (robustness). In this way, the loss of emergence means a depart from criticality and ultimately loss of health.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2019

Self-reported Health is Related to Body Height and Waist Circumference in Rural Indigenous and Urbanized Latin-American Populations

Body height is a life-history component. It involves important costs for its expression and maintenance, which may originate trade-offs on other costly components such as reproduction or immunity. Although previous evidence has supported the idea that human height could be a sexually selected trait, the explanatory mechanisms that underlie this selection are poorly understood. Despite extensive studies on the association between height and attractiveness, the role of immunity in linking this relation is scarcely studied, particularly in non-Western populations. Here, we tested whether human height is related to health measured by self-perception, and relevant nutritional and health anthropometric indicators in three Latin-American populations that widely differ in socioeconomic and ecological conditions: two urbanised populations from Bogota (Colombia) and Mexico City (Mexico), and one isolated indigenous population (MePhaa, Mexico). Results showed that self-reported health is best predicted by an interaction between height and waist circumference, and the costs associated with large waist circumference are height-dependent, affecting taller people more than shorter individuals. If health and genetic quality cues play an important role in human mate-choice, and height and waist interact to signal health, its evolutionary consequences, including cognitive and behavioural effects, should be addressed in future research.

evolutionary biology↗