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Adaptation, phylogeny, and covariance in milk macronutrient composition.

ABSTRACT: Background:Milk is a complicated chemical mixture often studied through macronutrient concentrations of fat, protein, and sugar. There is a long-standing natural history tradition describing interspecific diversity in these concentrations. However, recent work has shown little influence of ecological or life history variables on them, aside from maternal diet effects, along with a strong phylogenetic signal. Methods:I used multivariate phylogenetic comparative methods to revisit the ecological and life history correlates of milk macronutrient composition and elaborate on the nature of the phylogenetic signal using the phylogenetic mixed model. I also identified clades with distinctive milks through nonparametric tests (KSI) and PhylogeneticEM evolutionary modeling. Results:In addition to the previously reported diet effects, I found increasingly aquatic mammals have milk that this is lower in sugar and higher in fat. Phylogenteic heritabilities for each concentration were high and phylogenetic correlations were moderate to strong indicating coevolution among the concentrations. Primates and pinnipeds had the most outstanding milks according to KSI and PhylogeneticEM, with perissodactyls and marsupials as other noteworthy clades with distinct selection regimes. Discussion:Mammalian milks are diverse but often characteristic of certain higher taxa. This complicates identifying the ecological and life history correlates of milk composition using common phylogenetic comparative methods because those traits are also conservative and clade-specific. Novel methods, careful assessment of data quality and hypotheses, and a "phylogenetic natural history" perspective provide alternatives to these traditional tools.

SUBMITTER: Blomquist GE

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6858816 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Adaptation, phylogeny, and covariance in milk macronutrient composition.

Blomquist Gregory E GE

PeerJ 20191113

<h4>Background</h4>Milk is a complicated chemical mixture often studied through macronutrient concentrations of fat, protein, and sugar. There is a long-standing natural history tradition describing interspecific diversity in these concentrations. However, recent work has shown little influence of ecological or life history variables on them, aside from maternal diet effects, along with a strong phylogenetic signal.<h4>Methods</h4>I used multivariate phylogenetic comparative methods to revisit t ...[more]

PMID: 31741808

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Project description:BACKGROUND:Mother's own milk is the optimal source of nutrients and provides numerous health advantages for mothers and infants. As they have supplementary nutritional needs, very preterm infants may require fortification of human milk (HM). Addressing HM composition and variations is essential to optimize HM fortification strategies for these vulnerable infants. AIMS:To analyze and compare macronutrient composition in HM of mothers lactating very preterm (PT) (28 0/7 to 32 6/7 weeks of gestational age, GA) and term (T) infants (37 0/7 to 41 6/7 weeks of GA) over time, both at similar postnatal and postmenstrual ages, and to investigate other potential factors of variations. METHODS:Milk samples from 27 mothers of the PT infants and 34 mothers of the T infants were collected longitudinally at 12 points in time during four months for the PT HM and eight points in time during two months for the T HM. Macronutrient composition (proteins, fat, and lactose) and energy were measured using a mid-infrared milk analyzer, corrected by bicinchoninic acid (BCA) assay for total protein content. RESULTS:Analysis of 500 HM samples revealed large inter- and intra-subject variations in both groups. Proteins decreased from birth to four months in the PT and the T HM without significant differences at any postnatal time point, while it was lower around term equivalent age in PT HM. Lactose content remained stable and comparable over time. The PT HM contained significantly more fat and tended to be more caloric in the first two weeks of lactation, while the T HM revealed higher fat and higher energy content later during lactation (three to eight weeks). In both groups, male gender was associated with more fat and energy content. The gender association was stronger in the PT group, and it remained significant after adjustments. CONCLUSION:Longitudinal measurements of macronutrients compositions of the PT and the T HM showed only small differences at similar postnatal stages in our population. However, numerous differences exist at similar postmenstrual ages. Male gender seems to be associated with a higher content in fat, especially in the PT HM. This study provides original information on macronutrient composition and variations of HM, which is important to consider for the optimization of nutrition and growth of PT infants.

Dataset Information

Adaptation, phylogeny, and covariance in milk macronutrient composition.

Publications

Adaptation, phylogeny, and covariance in milk macronutrient composition.

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