Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University, 510642, Guangzhou, China.
Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, 510642, Guangzhou, China.
ISME J. 2022 Aug;16(8):1980-1992. doi: 10.1038/s41396-022-01247-2. Epub 2022 May 14.
Bamboo rats (Rhizomys pruinosus) are among the few mammals that lives on a bamboo-based diet which is mainly composed of lignocellulose. However, the mechanisms of adaptation of their gut microbiome and metabolic systems in the degradation of lignocellulose are largely unknown. Here, we conducted a multi-omics analysis on bamboo rats to investigate the interaction between their gut microbiomes and metabolic systems in the pre- and post-weaning periods, and observed significant relationships between dietary types, gut microbiome, serum metabolome and host gene expression. For comparison, published gut microbial data from the famous bamboo-eating giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) were also used for analysis. We found that the adaptation of the gut microbiome of the bamboo rat to a lignocellulose diet is related to a member switch in the order Bacteroidales from family Bacteroidaceae to family Muribaculaceae, while for the famous bamboo-eating giant panda, several aerobes and facultative anaerobes increase after weaning. The conversion of bacteria with an increased relative abundance in bamboo rats after weaning enriched diverse carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes) associated with lignocellulose degradation and functionally enhanced the biosynthesis of amino acids and B vitamins. Meanwhile, the circulating concentration of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) derived metabolites and the metabolic capacity of linoleic acid in the host were significantly elevated. Our findings suggest that fatty acid metabolism, including linoleic acid and SCFAs, are the main energy sources for bamboo rats in response to the low-nutrient bamboo diet.
竹鼠是少数以竹子为主要食物来源的哺乳动物之一，而竹子的主要成分是木质纤维素。然而，其肠道微生物组和代谢系统适应木质纤维素降解的机制在很大程度上尚不清楚。在这里，我们对竹鼠进行了多组学分析，以研究其在断奶前后肠道微生物组和代谢系统之间的相互作用，并观察到饮食类型、肠道微生物组、血清代谢组和宿主基因表达之间存在显著的关系。为了进行比较，还使用了已发表的著名食竹大熊猫（Ailuropoda melanoleuca）的肠道微生物组数据进行分析。我们发现，竹鼠肠道微生物组对木质纤维素饮食的适应与拟杆菌目（Bacteroidales）从拟杆菌科（Bacteroidaceae）到穆里巴科（Muribaculaceae）的成员转换有关，而对于著名的食竹大熊猫，几种需氧菌和兼性厌氧菌在断奶后增加。断奶后竹鼠中相对丰度增加的细菌的转换丰富了与木质纤维素降解相关的多种碳水化合物活性酶（CAZymes），并在功能上增强了氨基酸和 B 族维生素的生物合成。同时，宿主中短链脂肪酸（SCFAs）衍生代谢物的循环浓度和亚油酸的代谢能力显著升高。我们的研究结果表明，脂肪酸代谢，包括亚油酸和 SCFAs，是竹鼠应对低营养竹子饮食的主要能量来源。
