Intestinal acetic acid regulates the synthesis of sex pheromones in captive giant pandas

Frontiers in Microbiology

Microbiology

Xiao-hui Zhang¹  Xue-ying Wang¹  Jun-hui An²  Yu-liang Liu²  Dong-hui Wang²  Zhi-gang Cai²  Ming-yue Zhang²  Rong Hou² 

[1] Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, Chengdu, China;Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, Chengdu, China;Sichuan Key Laboratory of Conservation Biology for Endangered Wildlife, Chengdu, China;Sichuan Academy of Giant Panda, Chengdu, China;

关键词: captive giant pandas;    sex pheromone;    mate preference;    acetic acid;    gut microbe;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fmicb.2023.1234676

 received in 2023-06-05, accepted in 2023-08-11,  发布年份 2023

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

As a typical solitary animal, adult giant pandas rely on chemical signals (sex pheromones) to transmit reproductive information during oestrous. Although researchers have confirmed that the gut microbiota is related to the emission and reception of sex pheromones, there is no clear correlation between the gut microbes and the synthesis of sex pheromone of giant pandas, that is, which gut microbes and microbial metabolites are participate in the synthesis of giant panda’s sex pheromone. As a mirror of gut microbiota, fecal microbiota can reflect the composition of gut microbiota and its interaction with host to some extent. The purpose of this study is to explore how the gut microbes affect the synthesis of sex pheromones in captive giant pandas by combining analysis of the fecal microbiome and metabolomics. The results of correlation and microbial function analysis show that intestinal microorganisms such as Veillonellaceae and Lactobacillilaceae are associated with the synthesis of short chain fatty acid (acetic acid) and volatile ester metabolites, such as 1-butanol, 3-methyl, acetate, acetic acid, hexyl ester and 3-hexen-1-ol, acetate, (Z). In summary, based on this study, we believe that volatile metabolites such as fecal acetate participate in the process of mate preference of captive giant pandas and affect their expression of natural mating behavior. The possible mechanism is that the gut microbes can promote the synthesis of key chemical signaling substances in perianal glands through mediated intermediate fecal metabolites, thus affecting the normal information exchange between giant pandas individuals. The results of this study have greatly enriched our understanding of gut microbes regulating the synthesis of sex pheromones in giant pandas.

【 授权许可】

Unknown   
Copyright © 2023 Zhang, Zhang, Wang, Liu, An, Wang, Cai and Hou.