Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel; Felsenstein Medical Research Center, Petach Tikva, Israel.
Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Engineering, Technion -- Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel.
J Nutr Biochem. 2018 Jan;51:27-39. doi: 10.1016/j.jnutbio.2017.08.014. Epub 2017 Sep 14.
Researchers are gaining an increasing understanding of host-gut microbiota interactions, but studies of the role of gut microbiota in linear growth are scarce. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of food restriction and refeeding with different diets on gut microbiota composition in fast-growing rats. Young male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed regular rat chow ad libitum (control group) or subjected to 40% food restriction for 36 days followed by continued restriction or ad libitum refeeding for 24 days. Three different diets were used for refeeding: regular vegetarian protein chow or chow in which the sole source of protein was casein or whey. In the control group, the composition of the microbiota remained stable. Food restriction for 60 days led to a significant change in the gut microbiota at the phylum level, with a reduction in the abundance of Firmicutes and an increase in Bacteroidetes and Proteobacteria. Rats refed with the vegetarian protein diet had a different microbiota composition than rats refed the casein- or whey-based diet. Similarities in the bacterial population were found between rats refed vegetarian protein or a whey-based diet and control rats, and between rats refed a casein-based diet and rats on continued restriction. There was a significant strong correlation between the gut microbiota and growth parameters: humerus length, epiphyseal growth plate height, and levels of insulin-like growth factor 1 and leptin. In conclusion, the type of protein in the diet significantly affects the gut microbiota and, thereby, may affect animal's health.
研究人员对宿主-肠道微生物群相互作用的理解日益加深，但关于肠道微生物群在线性生长中的作用的研究却很少。本研究旨在探讨不同饮食限制和再喂养对快速生长大鼠肠道微生物群组成的影响。雄性 Sprague-Dawley 幼鼠自由进食常规大鼠饲料（对照组）或接受 40%的食物限制 36 天，然后继续限制或自由再喂养 24 天。再喂养时使用三种不同的饮食：常规素食蛋白饲料或仅以酪蛋白或乳清为蛋白质来源的饲料。在对照组中，微生物群的组成保持稳定。60 天的食物限制导致肠道微生物群在门水平上发生显著变化，厚壁菌门的丰度降低，拟杆菌门和变形菌门的丰度增加。用素食蛋白饲料喂养的大鼠与用酪蛋白或乳清饲料喂养的大鼠的微生物群组成不同。用素食蛋白或乳清饲料喂养的大鼠与对照组大鼠的细菌种群相似，用酪蛋白饲料喂养的大鼠与继续限制的大鼠相似。肠道微生物群与生长参数（肱骨长度、骺板生长高度、胰岛素样生长因子 1 和瘦素水平）之间存在显著的强相关性。总之，饮食中的蛋白质类型显著影响肠道微生物群，从而可能影响动物的健康。
