Starting this as a central thread to discuss establishing connections to the Amish to use them as donors for those based in the US. Traveling directly to them to receive FMT seems like a decent next best option to me in light of the FDA's shutdown of human microbes.
The previous discussion left off by stating they are unhealthy due to a lack of genetic diversity.
The Amish certainly have poor genetic health. E.g. previously mentioned have been special genetic mutations that predispose them to epilepsy. The concern, as suggested by the wiki, is that genetics can influence the microbiome, resulting in decreases in the composition of certain microbiota or even their extinction. The evidence in the wiki seems to be mixed. It nonetheless must be true to some extent; this is after all why microbiota from one species of animal fail to thrive in other species of animals: large genetic differences that make the animals different species. This paper discusses how most human microbiota fail to take hold in rats. The question is how relevant it is within-species. It seems like if this is a large effect within humans, then we should see less effective FMT colonization if there is too much genetic distance between donor and recipient. Has this been tested?
Despite bad genetics, the Amish have great protection against modern chronic diseases such as asthma, depression, cancer, etc. So I don't see any reason against simply finding the healthiest Amish, testing for pathogens, and getting FMT from them. Unlike most US donors, they are much more likely to have host-native strains that are extinct elsewhere. After all, this is the main selling point of FMT compared to dietary changes (wiki):
Furthermore, this would be quite on-brand for the Amish, who are famous for their ways of getting around restrictions on selling raw milk.
Are there any people who live near the Amish here and can make contact with them? Is my reasoning above wrong?
The previous discussion left off by stating they are unhealthy due to a lack of genetic diversity.
The Amish certainly have poor genetic health. E.g. previously mentioned have been special genetic mutations that predispose them to epilepsy. The concern, as suggested by the wiki, is that genetics can influence the microbiome, resulting in decreases in the composition of certain microbiota or even their extinction. The evidence in the wiki seems to be mixed. It nonetheless must be true to some extent; this is after all why microbiota from one species of animal fail to thrive in other species of animals: large genetic differences that make the animals different species. This paper discusses how most human microbiota fail to take hold in rats. The question is how relevant it is within-species. It seems like if this is a large effect within humans, then we should see less effective FMT colonization if there is too much genetic distance between donor and recipient. Has this been tested?
Despite bad genetics, the Amish have great protection against modern chronic diseases such as asthma, depression, cancer, etc. So I don't see any reason against simply finding the healthiest Amish, testing for pathogens, and getting FMT from them. Unlike most US donors, they are much more likely to have host-native strains that are extinct elsewhere. After all, this is the main selling point of FMT compared to dietary changes (wiki):
It's certainly not a bad idea to look for athletes and top 0.1% demonstrated health. But consider that the reason someone is a healthy athlete might not be that they have missing host-native strains, but simply that they have a better balance of widely available strains, whether because of their diet or genetics which better control the microbiome. And frankly, it could also simply be that they have better genetics in athelicism (perhaps not even elsewhere) that compensates for a mediocre microbiome. Twin studies show a high influence of genetics on phenotype variation in the United States already.
Furthermore, this would be quite on-brand for the Amish, who are famous for their ways of getting around restrictions on selling raw milk.
Are there any people who live near the Amish here and can make contact with them? Is my reasoning above wrong?
