Being half Japanese has its perks, and now I’ve discovered another one–a new study found that the Japanese are apparently the only ones who host Bacteroides plebeiusi, a bacteria that break downs proteins in seaweed. Researchers hypothesize that somewhere along the line, a marine microbe on seaweed or nori transferred its algae-processing skillz to us.
It is the “first clear-cut example” in which scientists are able to identify this sort of genetic evolution, researcher Mirjam Czjzek said.
Now, all I need is a bacterium that breaks down red velvet cupcakes into protein and I’m set!
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