Wang Xueying, Yuan Bo, Huang He, Zhang Xiaohui, Liu Yuliang, Hou Rong, Zhang Mingyue
Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, 1375 Panda Road, Northern Suburb, Chengdu, 610081, Sichuan Province, China.
Sichuan Key Laboratory of Conservation Biology for Endangered Wildlife, 1375 Panda Road, Northern Suburb, Chengdu, 610081, SichuanProvince, China.
Conserv Physiol. 2024 Sep 5;12(1):coae061. doi: 10.1093/conphys/coae061. eCollection 2024.
During conservation, the adaptability of giant pandas to environmental changes is greatly challenged. The issue of natural reproduction in captive giant pandas remains unresolved both domestically and internationally. It hypothesized that the restricted natural reproductive capacity may be linked to abnormal mating behavior expression due to physiological stress resulting from incompatible pairings in confined environments. To test this hypothesis, we utilized ultra-high performance liquid chromatographytandem quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF/MS) to analyse urine metabolites in captive adult giant pandas during their breeding period. Simultaneously, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was employed to measure the levels of cortisol and epinephrine in urine, providing insight into the psychological state of captive giant pandas during mate selection by examining all metabolites and related biochemical pathways. This comprehensive approach aims to fully elucidate the physiological mechanisms underlying the decline in natural reproductive capacity. The metabolomics findings indicate that the aberrant expression of natural mating behaviour in captive adult male and female giant pandas may be associated with dysfunction in amino acid metabolic pathways. The activation of these metabolic pathways is linked to psychological stress, such as the tryptophan metabolic pathway and GABAergic synapse pathway. The results of physiological indicators indicate a significant correlation between the expression of natural mating behaviour in captive adult pandas and the hormone urine cortisol, which is associated with physiological stress. These findings indicate that the atypical manifestation of natural mating behaviour in captive adult giant pandas may be associated with physiological stress induced by incompatible pairings within confined environments.
在圈养过程中，大熊猫对环境变化的适应能力受到极大挑战。圈养大熊猫的自然繁殖问题在国内外均未得到解决。据推测，自然繁殖能力受限可能与圈养环境中配对不当导致生理应激引起的异常交配行为表达有关。为验证这一假设，我们利用超高效液相色谱-串联四极杆-飞行时间质谱仪（UPLC-Q-TOF/MS）分析圈养成年大熊猫繁殖期的尿液代谢物。同时，采用酶联免疫吸附测定法测量尿液中皮质醇和肾上腺素的水平，通过检查所有代谢物和相关生化途径，深入了解圈养大熊猫在择偶期间的心理状态。这种综合方法旨在全面阐明自然繁殖能力下降的生理机制。代谢组学研究结果表明，圈养成年雌雄大熊猫自然交配行为的异常表达可能与氨基酸代谢途径功能障碍有关。这些代谢途径的激活与心理应激有关，如色氨酸代谢途径和γ-氨基丁酸能突触途径。生理指标结果表明，圈养成年大熊猫自然交配行为的表达与尿液皮质醇激素之间存在显著相关性，而皮质醇与生理应激有关。这些发现表明，圈养成年大熊猫自然交配行为的非典型表现可能与圈养环境中配对不当引起的生理应激有关。
