title: The evolution of the gut microbiota in the giant and the red pandas.
abstract: The independent dietary shift from carnivore to herbivore with over 90% being bamboo in the giant and the red pandas is of great interests to biologists. Although previous studies have shown convergent evolution of the giant and the red pandas at both morphological and molecular level, the evolution of the gut microbiota in these pandas remains largely unknown. The goal of this study was to determine whether the gut microbiota of the pandas converged due to the same diet, or diverged. We characterized the fecal microbiota from these two species by pyrosequencing the 16S V1-V3 hypervariable regions using the 454 GS FLX Titanium platform. We also included fecal samples from Asian black bears, a species phylogenetically closer to the giant panda, in our analyses. By analyzing the microbiota from these 3 species and those from other carnivores reported previously, we found the gut microbiotas of the giant pandas are distinct from those of the red pandas and clustered closer to those of the black bears. Our data suggests the divergent evolution of the gut microbiota in the pandas.
authors.affiliation: Farm Animal Genetic Resources Exploration and Innovation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, Sichuan 611130, China.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Farm Animal Genetic Resources Exploration and Innovation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, Sichuan 611130, China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Farm Animal Genetic Resources Exploration and Innovation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, Sichuan 611130, China.
authors.forename: Shushu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: Farm Animal Genetic Resources Exploration and Innovation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, Sichuan 611130, China.
authors.forename: Fanli
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Kong
authors.affiliation: China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda, Ya'an, Sichuan 611830 China.
authors.forename: Chengdong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda, Ya'an, Sichuan 611830 China.
authors.forename: Desheng
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda, Ya'an, Sichuan 611830 China.
authors.forename: Heming
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Farm Animal Genetic Resources Exploration and Innovation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, Sichuan 611130, China.
authors.forename: Mingyao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Ya'an, Sichuan 625014, China.
authors.forename: Huailiang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Farm Animal Genetic Resources Exploration and Innovation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, Sichuan 611130, China.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics and Communicable Disease, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, United States of America.
authors.forename: Jiangchao
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhao
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics; D005075:Biological Evolution; D002335:Carnivora; D000069196:Gastrointestinal Microbiome; D054892:Metagenome; D001503:Ursidae