Seasonal variation in nutrient utilization shapes gut microbiome structure and function in wild giant pandas

• Published in: Proceedings of the Royal Society. B, Biological sciences Vol. 284; no. 1862; p. 20170955
• Main Authors: Wu, Qi, Wang, Xiao, Ding, Yun, Hu, Yibo, Nie, Yonggang, Wei, Wei, Ma, Shuai, Yan, Li, Zhu, Lifeng, Wei, Fuwen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England The Royal Society 13.09.2017; The Royal Society Publishing
• Edition: Royal Society (Great Britain)
• Subjects: Ailuropoda melanoleuca; Animals; Bacteria; Bamboo; Bambusa; Cell cycle; Diet - veterinary; Ecology; Food; Gastrointestinal Microbiome; Giant Panda; Gut Microbiome; Intestinal microflora; Leaves; Metagenomics; Microbiomes; Microorganisms; Nutrient deficiency; Nutrient utilization; Nutrition Utilization; Pandas; Plant Leaves; Plant Shoots; Seasonal variations; Seasons; Shoots; Signal transduction; Structure-function relationships; Transduction; Ursidae - microbiology; Utilization; nutrition utilization; gut microbiome; giant panda
• ISSN: 0962-8452; 1471-2954; 1471-2954
• DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2017.0955

Wild giant pandas use different parts of bamboo (shoots, leaves and stems) and different bamboo species at different times of the year. Their usage of bamboo can be classified temporally into a distinct leaf stage, shoot stage and transition stage. An association between this usage pattern and variation in the giant panda gut microbiome remains unknown. Here, we found associations using a gut metagenomic approach and nutritional analyses whereby diversity of the gut microbial community in the leaf and shoot stages was significantly different. Functional metagenomic analysis showed that in the leaf stage, bacteria species over-represented genes involved in raw fibre utilization and cell cycle control. Thus, raw fibre utilization by the gut microbiome was guaranteed during the nutrient-deficient leaf stage by reinforcing gut microbiome robustness. During the protein-abundant shoot stage, the functional capacity of the gut microbiome expanded to include prokaryotic secretion and signal transduction activity, suggesting active interactions between the gut microbiome and host. These results illustrate that seasonal nutrient variation in wild giant pandas substantially influences gut microbiome composition and function. Nutritional interactions between gut microbiomes and hosts appear to be complex and further work is needed.