Doctoral Dissertation Research: The Role of the Gut Microbiome in Digestion and Energy Production in Wild Primates Across a Shifting Nutritional Landscape

博士论文研究：肠道微生物组在不断变化的营养格局中野生灵长类动物消化和能量生产中的作用

• 批准号: 2041608
• 负责人: Erin Vogel
• 金额: $ 2.52万
• 依托单位: Rutgers University New Brunswick
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-04-15 至 2024-03-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2041608&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Research; Role; Gut

Studies of the microbiome have shown that gut microbe communities can affect a host’s ability to harvest energy and store fat. However, the significance of gut microbiome plasticity and its relevance to host survival when faced with environmental fluctuations in nutrient availability remains unclear. This doctoral dissertation research uses evolutionary and ecological approaches to examine gut microbiota changes in wild primates that cope with extreme variability in forest fruit production, resulting in substantial fluctuations in caloric intake and major shifts in the types of foods available for consumption. This study advances knowledge about primate microbiome adaptations, which may also provide comparative data for examining adaptations in the hominin lineage and microbiome function in modern humans. The project facilitates doctoral degree completion for a woman and first-generation student and provide field, laboratory, and bioinformatics training for students from groups underrepresented in STEM research. The project also enhance research capacity at the research location through training workshops and collaboration. Orangutans cope with environmentally-induced variations in diet, such as reductions in caloric intake by up to 48%, and fall short of their energetic requirements for several months out of the year. Because gut microbiota have the potential to be powerful drivers of orangutan energetics during periods of fruit scarcity, this study investigates whether gut microbial community compositions change across marked fluctuations in nutritional intake, and also whether those changes result in increased energy harvest and microbial energy production. More specifically, this project (1) monitors environmental changes in fruit availability; (2) uses observations to estimate food intake and match intake with known nutritional values; (3) identifies gut microbial compositions from fecal samples using Next-Generation DNA sequencing; and (4) approximates microbial energy production by measuring short-chain fatty acid concentrations in fecal samples.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

微生物组的研究表明，肠道微生物群落可以影响宿主获取能量和储存脂肪的能力，然而，当面临营养可用性的环境波动时，肠道微生物组可塑性的重要性及其与宿主生存的相关性仍不清楚。研究利用进化和生态学方法来检查野生灵长类动物肠道微生物群的变化，这些变化应对森林水果生产的极端变化，导致热量摄入的大幅波动和可供食用的食物类型的重大变化。这项研究增进了有关灵长类动物的知识。微生物组适应，还可以为检查现代人类的古人类谱系和微生物组功能的适应提供比较数据，该项目有助于女性和第一代学生完成博士学位，并为团体学生提供现场、实验室和生物信息学培训。该项目还通过培训研讨会和合作，增强研究地点的红毛猩猩应对环境引起的饮食变化的能力，例如减少最多的热量摄入。 48%，并且一年中有几个月达不到它们的能量需求，因为肠道微生物群有可能在水果短缺期间成为猩猩能量的强大驱动力，因此这项研究调查了肠道微生物群落组成是否会随着显着波动而变化。营养摄入量，以及这些变化是否会导致能量收获和微生物能量生产增加。更具体地说，该项目 (1) 监测水果供应的环境变化；(2) 通过观察来估计食物摄入量并将摄入量与已知的营养价值相匹配； (3) 使用下一代 DNA 测序识别粪便样本中的肠道微生物组成；(4) 通过测量粪便样本中的短链脂肪酸浓度来估算微生物的能量产生。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并被认为值得支持。通过使用基金会的智力优点和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估。