Zhang Ming-Yue, Wang Xue-Ying, Ayala James, Liu Yu-Liang, An Jun-Hui, Wang Dong-Hui, Cai Zhi-Gang, Hou Rong, Cai Kai-Lai
Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, Chengdu, China.
Sichuan Key Laboratory of Conservation Biology for Endangered Wildlife, Chengdu, China.
Front Microbiol. 2022 Sep 2;13:906737. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.906737. eCollection 2022.
The decline in natural mating behavior is the primary reason underlying in the poor population growth of captive giant pandas. However, the influencing factors and underlying mechanisms remain unclear to data. It is speculated that the decline in natural mating behavior could be related to the psychological stress caused by captivity, which restricts their free choice of mates. In order to test this hypothesis, we performed urinary metabolomics analysis using Ultra-High-Performance Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (UHPLC/-MS) combined with 16S rDNA sequencing for exploring the physiological mechanism underlying the decline in the natural mating behavior of captive giant panda. The results demonstrated that the decline in mating ability could be related to abnormalities in arginine biosynthesis and neurotransmitter synthesis. Additionally, the relative abundance of bacteria from the Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, and Actinobacteria phyla and the , and genus was significantly reduced in the group with low natural mating behavior. These findings imply that the inhibition of arginine synthesis induced by environmental changes could be related to the poor libido and failure of mate selection in captive giant pandas during the breeding period. The results also demonstrate the relationship between the altered urinary microbes and metabolites related to arginine and neurotransmitter synthesis. These findings may aid in understanding the mechanism underlying environment-induced mate selection in captive giant pandas and propose a novel strategy for determining the sexual desire of giant pandas based on urinary microbes. The method would be of great significance in improving the natural reproductive success rate of captive giant pandas.
自然交配行为的下降是圈养大熊猫种群增长不佳的主要原因。然而，目前数据中其影响因素和潜在机制仍不清楚。据推测，自然交配行为的下降可能与圈养引起的心理压力有关，这限制了它们对配偶的自由选择。为了验证这一假设，我们使用超高效液相色谱 - 质谱联用仪（UHPLC/MS）结合16S rDNA测序进行尿液代谢组学分析，以探究圈养大熊猫自然交配行为下降的生理机制。结果表明，交配能力的下降可能与精氨酸生物合成和神经递质合成异常有关。此外，自然交配行为低的组中厚壁菌门、变形菌门和放线菌门细菌以及 属和 属的相对丰度显著降低。这些发现表明，环境变化诱导的精氨酸合成抑制可能与圈养大熊猫繁殖期性欲低下和择偶失败有关。结果还证明了尿液微生物变化与精氨酸和神经递质合成相关代谢物之间的关系。这些发现可能有助于理解圈养大熊猫环境诱导择偶的潜在机制，并提出一种基于尿液微生物确定大熊猫性欲的新策略。该方法对提高圈养大熊猫的自然繁殖成功率具有重要意义。
