Project description:A healthy rumen is crucial for normal growth and improved production performance of ruminant animals. Rumen microbes participate in and regulate rumen epithelial function, and the diverse metabolites produced by rumen microbes are important participants in rumen microbe-host interactions. SCFAs, as metabolites of rumen microbes, have been widely studied, and propionate and butyrate have been proven to promote rumen epithelial cell proliferation. Succinate, as an intermediate metabolite in the citric acid cycle, is a final product in the metabolism of certain rumen microbes, and is also an intermediate product in the microbial synthesis pathway of propionate. However, its effect on rumen microbes and rumen epithelial function has not been studied. It is unclear whether succinate can stimulate rumen epithelial development. Therefore, in this experiment, Chinese Tan sheep were used as experimental animals to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the rumen microbiota community structure and rumen epithelial transcriptome, to explore the role of adding succinate to the diet in the interaction between the rumen microbiota and host.
Project description:To investigate the central control of water homeostasis in the dromedary camel, we have performed transcriptomic studies on the supraoptic nucleus samples from camels under control (water ad libitum) and dehydrated (water deprivation for 20 days) conditions by RNA sequencing. We have identified genes that change in expression in response to hyperosmotic challenge and transcriptomic response networks that might be essential for adaptations of camel to live and thrive in aird desert environment.
Project description:The “ship of the desert”, the one-humped Arabian camel (Camelus dromedarius), has a remarkable capacity to survive in conditions of extreme heat without needing to drink water. One of the ways that this is achieved is through the actions of the antidiuretic hormone vasopressin (AVP) and the natriuretic hormone oxytocin (OXT), both of which are made in a specialised part of the brain called the hypothalamo-neurohypophyseal system (HNS), but exert their effects at the level of the kidney to, respectively, provoke water conservation and salt excretion. Interestingly, our electron microscopy studies have shown that the ultrastructure of the camel HNS changes according to season, suggesting that in the arid conditions of summer the dromedary’s HNS is in a state of permanent activation, in preparation for the likely prospect of water deprivation. Based on our camel genome sequence, we have carried out an RNAseq analysis of the camel HNS in summer and winter.
Project description:The gut microbiota impacts many aspects of host biology including immune function. One hypothesis is that microbial communities induce epigenetic changes with accompanying alterations in chromatin accessibility, providing a mechanism that allows a community to have sustained host effects even in the face of its structural or functional variation. We used ATAC-seq to define chromatin accessibility in predicted enhancer regions of intestinal αβ+ and γδ+ intraepithelial lymphocytes (IELs) purified from germ-free mice, their conventionally-raised (CONV-R) counterparts, and mice reared GF and then colonized with a CONV-R gut microbiota at the end of the suckling-weaning transition. Characterizing genes adjacent to traditional enhancers and super-enhancers revealed signaling networks, metabolic pathways, and enhancer-associated transcription factors affected by the microbiota. Our results support the notion that epigenetic modifications help define microbial community-affiliated functional features of host immune cell lineages.
Project description:Long-term dietary intake influences the structure and activity of the trillions of microorganisms residing in the human gut, but it remains unclear how rapidly and reproducibly the human gut microbiome responds to short-term macronutrient change. Here we show that the short-term consumption of diets composed entirely of animal or plant products alters microbial community structure and overwhelms inter-individual differences in microbial gene expression. The animal-based diet increased the abundance of bile-tolerant microorganisms (Alistipes, Bilophila and Bacteroides) and decreased the levels of Firmicutes that metabolize dietary plant polysaccharides (Roseburia, Eubacterium rectale and Ruminococcus bromii). Microbial activity mirrored differences between herbivorous and carnivorous mammals, reflecting trade-offs between carbohydrate and protein fermentation. Foodborne microbes from both diets transiently colonized the gut, including bacteria, fungi and even viruses. Finally, increases in the abundance and activity of Bilophila wadsworthia on the animal-based diet support a link between dietary fat, bile acids and the outgrowth of microorganisms capable of triggering inflammatory bowel disease. In concert, these results demonstrate that the gut microbiome can rapidly respond to altered diet, potentially facilitating the diversity of human dietary lifestyles. RNA-Seq analysis of the human gut microbiome during consumption of a plant- or animal-based diet.
Project description:Background: More than 100 million Americans are living with metabolic syndrome, increasing their propensity to develop heart disease– the leading cause of death worldwide. A major contributing factor to this epidemic is caloric excess, often a result of consuming low cost, high calorie fast food. Several recent seminal studies have demonstrated the pivotal role of gut microbes contributing to cardiovascular disease in a diet-dependent manner. Given the central contributions of diet and gut microbiota to cardiometabolic disease, we hypothesized that novel microbial metabolites originating postprandially after fast food consumption may contribute to cardiometabolic disease progression. Methods: To test this hypothesis, we gave conventionally raised or antibiotic-treated mice a single oral gavage of a fast food slurry or a control rodent chow diet slurry and sacrificed the mice four hours later. Here, we coupled untargeted metabolomics in portal and peripheral blood, 16S rRNA gene sequencing, targeted liver metabolomics, and host liver RNA sequencing to identify novel fast food-derived microbial metabolites. Results: We successfully identified several metabolites that were enriched in portal blood, increased by fast food feeding, and essentially absent in antibiotic-treated mice. Strikingly, just four hours post-gavage, we found that fast food consumption resulted in rapid reorganization of the gut microbial community structure and drastically altered hepatic gene expression. Importantly, diet-driven reshaping of the microbiome and liver transcriptome was dependent on a non-antibiotic ablated gut microbial community. Conclusions: Collectively, these data suggest that single fast food meal is sufficient to reshape the gut microbial community yielding a unique signature of food-derived microbial metabolites. Future studies are warranted to determine if these metabolites are causally linked to cardiometabolic disease.
Project description:Metaproteomic analysis of an enriched anaerobic rumen consortium (ERAC) using sugarcane bagasse and rumen as unique carbon and microbial sources
Project description:A total of 14 samples were used, 12 paired rumen and colon samples, and two rumen only samples. DNA was extracted from each sample, and PCR amplified using universal bacterial primers 27F and 1492R. Trends between anatomical location, age and sex were considered.
Project description:SARST-V1 method was used to asses the effect of live yeast on the microbial population of the rumen of cows fed an acidogenic diet 3 cows were used in 3 by 3 latin-square design with 3 periods. In each period animals received either 0.5g/d of yeast, 5g/d of yeast or none. Rumen microbiota was analysed using the SARST-V1 method for each period.