Hou Jin, Hull Vanessa, Fujimoto Masanori, Zhang Zejun, Chen Xiaoyuan, Chen Shiyu, Chen Rui, Connor Thomas, Qi Dunwu, Zhang Jindong
Key Laboratory of Southwest China Wildlife Resources Conservation (Ministry of Education), China West Normal University, Nanchong, Sichuan Province 637002, China.
College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China.
iScience. 2024 May 23;27(6):110051. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.110051. eCollection 2024 Jun 21.
Scent marking sites served as a primary means of chemical communication for giant pandas, enabling intraspecific communication. We integrated metabolomics and high-throughput sequencing techniques to examine the non-targeted metabolome and microbial community structure of scent marking sites and feces in the field. Integrative analysis revealed a more comprehensive array of chemical compounds compared to previous investigations, including ketones, acids, heterocycles, alcohols, and aldehydes. Notably, specific compounds such as 2-decenal, (E)-, octanal, decanal, L-α-terpineol, vanillin, and nonanal emerged as potential key players in scent signaling. Intriguingly, our study of the microbial domain identified dominant bacterial species from the Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Proteobacteria phyla, likely orchestrating metabolic processes at scent marking sites. Comparative analyses showed, for the first time, that feces do not share the same functions as scent markers, indicating distinct functional roles. This research deepens scientific understanding of chemical communication in wild pandas.
气味标记点是大熊猫进行化学通讯的主要方式，有助于种内交流。我们整合了代谢组学和高通量测序技术，在野外研究了气味标记点和粪便的非靶向代谢组及微生物群落结构。综合分析显示，与之前的研究相比，所发现的化合物种类更为丰富，包括酮类、酸类、杂环化合物、醇类和醛类。值得注意的是，（E）-2-癸烯醛、辛醛、癸醛、L-α-松油醇、香草醛和壬醛等特定化合物可能是气味信号传递中的关键成分。有趣的是，我们对微生物领域的研究确定了放线菌门、拟杆菌门和变形菌门中的优势细菌种类，它们可能在气味标记点协调代谢过程。对比分析首次表明，粪便与气味标记物的功能不同，这说明它们具有不同的功能作用。这项研究加深了我们对野生大熊猫化学通讯的科学认识。
