Comparative functional genomics and microbiomes in lifestyle transition of Borneo indigenous hunter-gatherer communities

The ancestors of all modern humans evolved over 200,000 years ago and lived in small mobile bands as hunter-gatherers. Only a few groups now remain following this ancestral lifestyle. Amongst them are the Cave Punan (Punan Batu), one of the last living hunter-gatherer groups in Asia. Over time, their unique lifestyle might have impacted their DNA, giving rise to genetic adaptations that help them survive in their environment. However, the Bornean forest is diminishing, forcing the community to transition towards a more sedentary lifestyle, and forcing changes in their diet and activity levels, possibly upsetting the balance between their genomes and their environments. In this project, I will study the impact of this transition in the Cave Punan group by using multiple complementary approaches to document changes in health profiles, gut microbes and gene activity, between groups with different lifestyle.