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Metagenomic Study Suggests That the Gut Microbiota of the Giant Panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) May Not Be Specialized for Fiber Fermentation.

Frontiers in microbiology | 2018

Bamboo-eating giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) is an enigmatic species, which possesses a carnivore-like short and simple gastrointestinal tract (GIT). Despite the remarkable studies on giant panda, its diet adaptability status continues to be a matter of debate. To resolve this puzzle, we investigated the functional potential of the giant panda gut microbiome using shotgun metagenomic sequencing of fecal samples. We also compared our data with similar data from other animal species representing herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores from current and earlier studies. We found that the giant panda hosts a bear-like gut microbiota distinct from those of herbivores indicated by the metabolic potential of the microbiome in the gut of giant pandas and other mammals. Furthermore, the relative abundance of genes involved in cellulose- and hemicellulose-digestion, and enrichment of enzymes associated with pathways of amino acid degradation and biosynthetic reactions in giant pandas echoed a carnivore-like microbiome. Most significantly, the enzyme assay of the giant panda's feces indicated the lowest cellulase and xylanase activity among major herbivores, shown by an in-vitro experimental assay of enzyme activity for cellulose and hemicellulose-degradation. All of our results consistently indicate that the giant panda is not specialized to digest cellulose and hemicellulose from its bamboo diet, making the giant panda a good mammalian model to study the unusual link between the gut microbiome and diet. The increased food intake of the giant pandas might be a strategy to compensate for the gut microbiome functions, highlighting a strong need of conservation of the native bamboo forest both in high- and low-altitude ranges to meet the great demand of bamboo diet of giant pandas.

Pubmed ID: 29503636 RIS Download

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This is a list of tools and resources that we have found mentioned in this publication.


MG-RAST (tool)

RRID:SCR_004814

An automated analysis platform for metagenomes providing quantitative insights into microbial populations based on sequence data. The server primarily provides upload, quality control, automated annotation and analysis for prokaryotic metagenomic shotgun samples.

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NCBI Sequence Read Archive (SRA) (tool)

RRID:SCR_004891

Repository of raw sequencing data from next generation of sequencing platforms including including Roche 454 GS System, Illumina Genome Analyzer, Applied Biosystems SOLiD System, Helicos Heliscope, Complete Genomics, and Pacific Biosciences SMRT. In addition to raw sequence data, SRA now stores alignment information in form of read placements on reference sequence. Data submissions are welcome. Archive of high throughput sequencing data,part of international partnership of archives (INSDC) at NCBI, European Bioinformatics Institute and DNA Database of Japan. Data submitted to any of this three organizations are shared among them.

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BWA (tool)

RRID:SCR_010910

Software for aligning sequencing reads against large reference genome. Consists of three algorithms: BWA-backtrack, BWA-SW and BWA-MEM. First for sequence reads up to 100bp, and other two for longer sequences ranged from 70bp to 1Mbp.

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CAZy- Carbohydrate Active Enzyme (tool)

RRID:SCR_012909

Database that describes the families of structurally-related catalytic and carbohydrate-binding modules (or functional domains) of enzymes that degrade, modify, or create glycosidic bonds. This specialist database is dedicated to the display and analysis of genomic, structural and biochemical information on Carbohydrate-Active Enzymes (CAZymes). CAZy data are accessible either by browsing sequence-based families or by browsing the content of genomes in carbohydrate-active enzymes. New genomes are added regularly shortly after they appear in the daily releases of GenBank. New families are created based on published evidence for the activity of at least one member of the family and all families are regularly updated, both in content and in description. An original aspect of the CAZy database is its attempt to cover all carbohydrate-active enzymes across organisms and across subfields of glycosciences. One can search for CAZY Family pages using the Protein Accession (Genpept Accession, Uniprot Accession or PDB ID), Cazy family name or EC number. In addition, genomes can be searched using the NCBI TaxID. This search can be complemented by Google-based searches on the CAZy site.

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IMG System (tool)

RRID:SCR_014605

Resource for analysis and annotation of genome and metagenome datasets in comprehensive comparative context. IMG provides users with tools for analyzing publicly available genome datasets and metagenome datasets.

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FLASH (tool)

RRID:SCR_005531

Open source software tool to merge paired-end reads from next-generation sequencing experiments. Designed to merge pairs of reads when original DNA fragments are shorter than twice length of reads. Can improve genome assemblies and transcriptome assembly by merging RNA-seq data.

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GeneMark (tool)

RRID:SCR_011930

A family of gene prediction programs developed at Georgia Institute of Technology.

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KEGG (tool)

RRID:SCR_012773

Integrated database resource consisting of 16 main databases, broadly categorized into systems information, genomic information, and chemical information. In particular, gene catalogs in completely sequenced genomes are linked to higher-level systemic functions of cell, organism, and ecosystem. Analysis tools are also available. KEGG may be used as reference knowledge base for biological interpretation of large-scale datasets generated by sequencing and other high-throughput experimental technologies.

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IMG System (tool)

RRID:SCR_002965

Resource for analysis and annotation of genome and metagenome datasets in comprehensive comparative context. IMG provides users with tools for analyzing publicly available genome datasets and metagenome datasets.

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