Project description:Mandarin fish Siniperca chuatsi (Basilewsky) (Percichthyidae), as a demersal piscivore, has very specialized feeding habits, for as soon as they start feeding the fry of this fish feed solely on fry of other fish species. In rearing conditions, mandarin fish has been found to accept live prey fish only, and refuse dead prey fish or artificial diets, very little is currently known about the molecular mechanisms of multiple genes which cover different pathways influencing the specialized food habit, such as live prey. We performed transcriptome comparisons between dead prey fish feeders and nonfeeders in mandarin fish. The determination mechanisms of specialized food habit (live prey fish) in mandarin fish could provide some instructions for research of food habit in animals, including mammals.
Project description:Beneficial modulation of the gut microbiome has high-impact implications not only in humans, but also in livestock that sustain our current societal needs. In this context, we have engineered an acetylated galactoglucomannan (AcGGM) fibre from spruce trees to match unique enzymatic capabilities of Roseburia and Faecalibacterium species, both renowned butyrate-producing gut commensals. The accuracy of AcGGM was tested in an applied pig feeding trial, which resolved 355 metagenome-assembled genomes together with quantitative metaproteomes. In AcGGM-fed pigs, both target populations differentially expressed AcGGM-specific polysaccharide utilization loci, including novel, mannan-specific esterases that are critical to its deconstruction. We additionally observed a “butterfly effect”, whereby numerous metabolic changes and interdependent cross-feeding pathways were detected in neighboring non-mannolytic populations that produce short-chain fatty acids. Our findings show that intricate structural features and acetylation patterns of dietary fibre can be customized to specific bacterial populations, with the possibility to create greater modulatory effects at large.
2020-09-28 | PXD015757 | Pride
Project description:Feeding habits of Chinese pangolin
Project description:16S amplicon pool analyses of the four gut sections of the wood-feeding beetle, Odontotaenius disjunctus The beetle is purely wood feeding, and we aim to first characterize the community that exist within the gut sections
Project description:Beneficial effects of long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 FAs) are generally well-known from epidemiological studies, but the various mechanisms of action are not completely clarified. Regulation of gene expression is one known mechanism of action, but only very limited data of regulated pathways in humans after n-3 FA supplementation are available. Up to now, no studies compared gene expression changes after n-3 FA supplementation between normolipidemic and dyslipidemic subjects. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of n-3 FA administration on whole genome expression profiles in the blood of normo- and dyslipidemic subjects. We conducted an intervention study with normo- and dyslipidemic men aged between 29 and 51 years, which were subdivided into four groups with a balanced age distribution and randomized to either six fish oil capsules per day providing 1.5 g docosahexaenoic acid and 1.0 g eicosapentaenoic acid or corn oil capsules rich in linoleic acid per day for a period of 12 weeks. Venous blood samples were collected at baseline as well as after 4 hours, 1 week and 12 weeks of supplementation. For each investigation time point, the samples of each group were pooled together to minimize inter-individual variability. All subjects have successfully completed the study, but for the microarray experiments, nine subject samples were excluded. Therefore, the microarray experiments are based on the following group characteristics: normolipidemic fish oil group (FO-N): pool of nine RNAs from normolipidemic subjects supplemented with fish oil; normolipidemic corn oil group (CO-N): pool of six RNAs from normolipidemic subjects supplemented with corn oil; dyslipidemic corn oil group (CO-D): pool of eight RNAs from dyslipidemic subjects supplemented with corn oil; dyslipidemic fish oil group (FO-D): pool of nine RNAs from dyslipidemic subjects supplemented with fish oil. The twenty normolipidemic and the twenty dyslipidemic subjects were subdivided into two groups. Thus, a total of four groups with ten men per group passed through the study. To realize a comparable mean age between groups, the formation of groups was performed by stratified allocation according to subject's age. The four study groups were randomly assigned to different study products by an uninvolved collaborator. Subjects ingested either six FO or six corn oil (CO) capsules per day for a period of twelve weeks. The daily n-3 PUFA intake via FO capsules was 2.7 g (1.14 g DHA and 1.56 g EPA). The predominant FA of the CO capsules was the omega-6 (n-6) PUFA linoleic acid (LA, 18:2n-6). Thus, the daily LA intake via CO capsules was 3.05 g LA. The subjects were instructed to ingest the capsules together with food, three in the morning and three in the evening, and to maintain their usual exercise and dietary habits throughout the intervention time. As an exception, at the first intervention day, all six capsules were ingested at the same time in the morning after a standardised breakfast. During each visit, fasting blood samples were collected by venepuncture. Additionally, participants completed a questionnaire to obtain information about changes in medication, dietary (e.g., changes in weekly fish intake, preferred fish dishes or species, respectively) and lifestyle habits (e.g., physical activity), as well as the tolerability of the capsules. This record summarizes the results of 16 microarrays. The samples originate from whole blood of normo- and dyslipidemic subjects supplemented with either fish oil or corn oil for 4 h, 1 week and 12 weeks. Microarrays were hybridized in a loop design with one common reference using a dye-swap approach.