scholarly journals Mating promotes lactic-acid gut bacteria in a gift-giving insect

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chad C Smith ◽  
Robert B Srygley ◽  
Emma I Dietrich ◽  
Ulrich Mueller
Keyword(s):  
Lactic Acid ◽  
Gut Microbiome ◽  
Protein Supplementation ◽  
Gut Bacteria ◽  
Nuptial Gift ◽  
Nuptial Gifts ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
Host Microbe Interactions ◽  
Mormon Cricket ◽  
Decorated Cricket

Mating is a ubiquitous social interaction with the potential to influence the microbiome by facilitating transmission, modifying host physiology, and in species where males donate nuptial gifts to females, altering diet. We manipulated mating and nuptial gift consumption in two insects that differ in nuptial gift size, the Mormon cricket Anabrus simplex and the decorated cricket Gryllodes sigillatus, with the expectation that larger gifts are more likely to affect the gut microbiome. Surprisingly, mating, but not nuptial gift consumption, affected bacterial community structure, and only in Mormon crickets. The change in structure was due to a precipitous drop in the abundance of lactic-acid bacteria in unmated females, a taxon known for their beneficial effects on nutrition and immunity. Mating did not affect phenoloxidase or lysozyme-like antibacterial activity in either species, suggesting that any physiological response to mating on host-microbe interactions is decoupled from the systemic immunity. Protein supplementation also did not affect the gut microbiome in decorated crickets, suggesting that insensitivity of gut microbes to dietary protein could contribute to the lack of an effect of nuptial gift consumption. Our study provides experimental evidence that sexual interactions can affect the microbiome and suggests mating can promote beneficial gut bacteria.

scholarly journals The food-gut axis: lactic acid bacteria and their link to food, the gut microbiome and human health

2020 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 454-489 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesca De Filippis ◽  
Edoardo Pasolli ◽  
Danilo Ercolini
Keyword(s):  
Lactic Acid ◽  
Lactic Acid Bacteria ◽  
Gut Microbiome ◽  
Human Subjects ◽  
Metagenomic Data ◽  
Fermented Foods ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
Health Promoting ◽  
Public Repositories

ABSTRACT Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are present in foods, the environment and the animal gut, although fermented foods (FFs) are recognized as the primary niche of LAB activity. Several LAB strains have been studied for their health-promoting properties and are employed as probiotics. FFs are recognized for their potential beneficial effects, which we review in this article. They are also an important source of LAB, which are ingested daily upon FF consumption. In this review, we describe the diversity of LAB and their occurrence in food as well as the gut microbiome. We discuss the opportunities to study LAB diversity and functional properties by considering the availability of both genomic and metagenomic data in public repositories, as well as the different latest computational tools for data analysis. In addition, we discuss the role of LAB as potential probiotics by reporting the prevalence of key genomic features in public genomes and by surveying the outcomes of LAB use in clinical trials involving human subjects. Finally, we highlight the need for further studies aimed at improving our knowledge of the link between LAB-fermented foods and the human gut from the perspective of health promotion.

scholarly journals Structure, culture, and predicted function of the gut microbiome of the Mormon cricketAnabrus simplex(Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae)

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chad C. Smith ◽  
Robert B. Srygley ◽  
Frank Healy ◽  
Karthikeyan Swaminath ◽  
Ulrich G. Mueller
Keyword(s):  
Lactic Acid ◽  
Community Structure ◽  
Lactic Acid Bacteria ◽  
16S Rrna ◽  
Gut Microbiome ◽  
Gene Content ◽  
Pathogen Defense ◽  
Mormon Cricket ◽  
Rrna Sequences ◽  
16S Rrna Sequences

SUMMARYThe gut microbiome of insects plays an important role in their ecology and evolution, participating in nutrient acquisition, immunity, and behavior. Microbial community structure within the gut is heavily influenced by differences among gut regions in morphology and physiology, which determine the niches available for microbes to colonize.We present a high-resolution analysis of the structure of the gut microbiome in the Mormon cricketAnabrus simplex,an insect known for its periodic outbreaks in the western United States and nutrition-dependent mating system. The Mormon cricket microbiome was dominated by eleven taxa from the Lactobacillaceae, Enterobacteriaceae, and Streptococcaeae. While most of these were represented in all gut regions, there were marked differences in their relative abundance, with lactic-acid bacteria (Lactobacillaceae) more common in the foregut and midgut and enteric (Enterobacteriaceae) bacteria more common in the hindgut.Differences in community structure were driven by variation in the relative prevalence of three groups: aLactobacillusin the foregut,Pediococcuslactic-acid bacteria in the midgut, andPantoea agglomerans, an enteric bacterium, in the hindgut. These taxa have been shown to have beneficial effects on their hosts in insects and other animals by improving nutrition, increasing resistance to pathogens, and modulating social behavior.Using PICRUSt to predict gene content from our 16S rRNA sequences, we found enzymes that participate in carbohydrate metabolism and pathogen defense in other orthopterans. These were predominately represented in the hindgut and midgut, the most important sites for nutrition and pathogen defense.Phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA sequences from cultured isolates indicated low levels of divergence from sequences derived from plants and other insects, suggesting that these bacteria are likely to be exchanged between Mormon crickets and the environment.Our study shows strong spatial variation in microbiome community structure, which influences predicted gene content and thus the potential of the microbiome to influence host function.

scholarly journals Effects of the Cistanche tubulosa Aqueous Extract on the Gut Microbiota of Mice with Intestinal Disorders

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Xiaowei Bao ◽  
Dongwen Bai ◽  
Xiaolu Liu ◽  
Ying Wang ◽  
Lanjun Zeng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lactic Acid ◽  
Lactic Acid Bacteria ◽  
Gut Microbiota ◽  
Aqueous Extract ◽  
Gut Microbiome ◽  
Intestinal Morphology ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
Cistanche Tubulosa ◽  
And Control ◽  
Insight Into

Disorders of the gut microbiota are associated with many diseases. The aqueous extract from Cistanche tubulosa (CT), a traditional Chinese herbal formula, has been reported to play a role in protecting the human intestine. However, little is known about its effects on the gut microbiota. The present study was carried out to determine whether the CT aqueous extract can modulate the gut microbiome in mice with intestinal disorders. We found that the damaged intestinal morphology resulting from treatment with cefixime could be rescued using the CT aqueous extract. The comparison of microbial diversity between mice treated with the CT extract and control mice also indicated that the disorder in the microbiome community of model groups could be restored by treatment with high and medium concentrations of the CT aqueous extract. Treatment with cefixime led to a significant decrease in lactic acid bacteria; however, the supplementation of the CT aqueous extract recovered the growth of these lactic acid bacteria. Furthermore, the CT aqueous extract was able to moderate the dramatic changes in the metabolic pathways of the gut microbiome induced by cefixime. These findings provided an insight into the beneficial effects of the CT aqueous extract on gut microbiota, and they also provided an important reference for the development of related drugs in the future.

scholarly journals Flavonoid-Modifying Capabilities of the Human Gut Microbiome—An In Silico Study

Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 2688
Author(s):  
Tobias Goris ◽  
Rafael R. C. Cuadrat ◽  
Annett Braune
Keyword(s):  
Gut Microbiome ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Health Impact ◽  
Gut Bacteria ◽  
Human Gut ◽  
Positive Health ◽  
Human Gut Microbiome ◽  
Nutritional Recommendations ◽  
Genes Encoding ◽  
A Minor

Flavonoids are a major group of dietary plant polyphenols and have a positive health impact, but their modification and degradation in the human gut is still widely unknown. Due to the rise of metagenome data of the human gut microbiome and the assembly of hundreds of thousands of bacterial metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs), large-scale screening for potential flavonoid-modifying enzymes of human gut bacteria is now feasible. With sequences of characterized flavonoid-transforming enzymes as queries, the Unified Human Gastrointestinal Protein catalog was analyzed and genes encoding putative flavonoid-modifying enzymes were quantified. The results revealed that flavonoid-modifying enzymes are often encoded in gut bacteria hitherto not considered to modify flavonoids. The enzymes for the physiologically important daidzein-to-equol conversion, well studied in Slackiaisoflavoniconvertens, were encoded only to a minor extent in Slackia MAGs, but were more abundant in Adlercreutzia equolifaciens and an uncharacterized Eggerthellaceae species. In addition, enzymes with a sequence identity of about 35% were encoded in highly abundant MAGs of uncultivated Collinsella species, which suggests a hitherto uncharacterized daidzein-to-equol potential in these bacteria. Of all potential flavonoid modification steps, O-deglycosylation (including derhamnosylation) was by far the most abundant in this analysis. In contrast, enzymes putatively involved in C-deglycosylation were detected less often in human gut bacteria and mainly found in Agathobacter faecis (formerly Roseburia faecis). Homologs to phloretin hydrolase, flavanonol/flavanone-cleaving reductase and flavone reductase were of intermediate abundance (several hundred MAGs) and mainly prevalent in Flavonifractor plautii. This first comprehensive insight into the black box of flavonoid modification in the human gut highlights many hitherto overlooked and uncultured bacterial genera and species as potential key organisms in flavonoid modification. This could lead to a significant contribution to future biochemical-microbiological investigations on gut bacterial flavonoid transformation. In addition, our results are important for individual nutritional recommendations and for biotechnological applications that rely on novel enzymes catalyzing potentially useful flavonoid modification reactions.

scholarly journals Thermal Preferences of Cowpea Seed Beetles (Callosobruchus maculatus): Effects of Sex and Nuptial Gift Transfers

Insects ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 310
Author(s):  
Dariusz Krzysztof Małek ◽  
Marcin Czarnoleski
Keyword(s):  
Water Balance ◽  
Callosobruchus Maculatus ◽  
Thermal Environment ◽  
Nuptial Gift ◽  
Thermal Preference ◽  
Nuptial Gifts ◽  
Insect Performance ◽  
Evaporative Water ◽  
Thermal Preferences ◽  
Seed Beetles

The thermal environment influences insect performance, but the factors affecting insect thermal preferences are rarely studied. We studied Callosobruchus maculatus seed beetles and hypothesized that thermal preferences are influenced by water balance, with individuals with limited water reserves preferring cooler habitats to reduce evaporative water loss. Adult C. maculatus, in their flightless morph, do not consume food or water, but a copulating male provides a female with a nuptial gift of ejaculate containing nutrients and water. We hypothesized that gift recipients would prefer warmer habitats than gift donors and that both sexes would plastically adjust their thermal preferences according to the size of the transferred gift. We measured the thermal preference in each sex in individuals that were mated once or were unmated. In the mated group, we measured the sizes of the nuptial gifts and calculated proportional body mass changes in each mate during copulation. Supporting the role of water balance in thermal preference, females preferred warmer habitats than males. Nevertheless, thermal preferences in either sex were not affected by mating status or gift size. It is likely that high rates of mating and gift transfers in C. maculatus living under natural conditions promoted the evolution of constitutive sex-dependent thermal preferences.

scholarly journals Administration of Bifidobacterium breve Improves the Brain Function of Aβ1-42-Treated Mice via the Modulation of the Gut Microbiome

Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 1602
Author(s):  
Guangsu Zhu ◽  
Jianxin Zhao ◽  
Hao Zhang ◽  
Wei Chen ◽  
Gang Wang
Keyword(s):  
Gut Microbiome ◽  
Dietary Intervention ◽  
Neuroprotective Effects ◽  
Bifidobacterium Breve ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
Behavioral Abnormalities ◽  
Fibronectin Type Iii ◽  
Fibronectin Type Iii Domain ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Fibronectin Type

Psychobiotics are used to treat neurological disorders, including mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, the mechanisms underlying their neuroprotective effects remain unclear. Herein, we report that the administration of bifidobacteria in an AD mouse model improved behavioral abnormalities and modulated gut dysbiosis. Bifidobacterium breve CCFM1025 and WX treatment significantly improved synaptic plasticity and increased the concentrations of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), fibronectin type III domain-containing protein 5 (FNDC5), and postsynaptic density protein 95 (PSD-95). Furthermore, the microbiome and metabolomic profiles of mice indicate that specific bacterial taxa and their metabolites correlate with AD-associated behaviors, suggesting that the gut–brain axis contributes to the pathophysiology of AD. Overall, these findings reveal that B. breve CCFM1025 and WX have beneficial effects on cognition via the modulation of the gut microbiome, and thus represent a novel probiotic dietary intervention for delaying the progression of AD.

scholarly journals Spatial Structure of the Mormon Cricket Gut Microbiome and its Predicted Contribution to Nutrition and Immune Function

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chad C. Smith ◽  
Robert B. Srygley ◽  
Frank Healy ◽  
Karthikeyan Swaminath ◽  
Ulrich G. Mueller
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Structure ◽  
Immune Function ◽  
Gut Microbiome ◽  
Mormon Cricket

scholarly journals The shield effect: nuptial gifts protect males against pre-copulatory sexual cannibalism

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 20151082 ◽  
Author(s):  
Søren Toft ◽  
Maria J. Albo
Keyword(s):  
Indirect Evidence ◽  
Experimental Tests ◽  
Female Aggression ◽  
Sexual Cannibalism ◽  
Nuptial Gift ◽  
Nuptial Gifts ◽  
Spider Species ◽  
Pisaura Mirabilis

Several not mutually exclusive functions have been ascribed to nuptial gifts across different taxa. Although the idea that a nuptial prey gift may protect the male from pre-copulatory sexual cannibalism is attractive, it has previously been considered of no importance based on indirect evidence and rejected by experimental tests. We reinvestigated whether nuptial gifts may function as a shield against female attacks during mating encounters in the spider Pisaura mirabilis and whether female hunger influences the likelihood of cannibalistic attacks. The results showed that pre-copulatory sexual cannibalism was enhanced when males courted without a gift and this was independent of female hunger. We propose that the nuptial gift trait has evolved partly as a counteradaptation to female aggression in this spider species.

Sa594 THE GUT MICROBIOME MODULATES THE BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF VITAMIN D ON CARDIOVASCULAR RISK

2021 ◽  
Vol 160 (6) ◽  
pp. S-565-S-566
Author(s):  
Wenjie Ma ◽  
Mingyang Song ◽  
Long H. Nguyen ◽  
Raaj S. Mehta ◽  
Dong Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Vitamin D ◽  
Cardiovascular Risk ◽  
Gut Microbiome ◽  
Beneficial Effects

scholarly journals The Gut Microbiota and Healthy Aging: A Mini-Review

Gerontology ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 64 (6) ◽  
pp. 513-520 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sangkyu Kim ◽  
S. Michal Jazwinski
Keyword(s):  
Gut Microbiota ◽  
Individual Variation ◽  
Gut Microbiome ◽  
Chronological Age ◽  
Low Grade ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
Gut Dysbiosis ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Host Health ◽  
Nutrient Signaling

The gut microbiota shows a wide inter-individual variation, but its within-individual variation is relatively stable over time. A functional core microbiome, provided by abundant bacterial taxa, seems to be common to various human hosts regardless of their gender, geographic location, and age. With advancing chronological age, the gut microbiota becomes more diverse and variable. However, when measures of biological age are used with adjustment for chronological age, overall richness decreases, while a certain group of bacteria associated with frailty increases. This highlights the importance of considering biological or functional measures of aging. Studies using model organisms indicate that age-related gut dysbiosis may contribute to unhealthy aging and reduced longevity. The gut microbiome depends on the host nutrient signaling pathways for its beneficial effects on host health and lifespan, and gut dysbiosis disrupting the interdependence may diminish the beneficial effects or even have reverse effects. Gut dysbiosis can trigger the innate immune response and chronic low-grade inflammation, leading to many age-related degenerative pathologies and unhealthy aging. The gut microbiota communicates with the host through various biomolecules, nutrient signaling-independent pathways, and epigenetic mechanisms. Disturbance of these communications by age-related gut dysbiosis can affect the host health and lifespan. This may explain the impact of the gut microbiome on health and aging.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document