title: Dietary Shifts May Trigger Dysbiosis and Mucous Stools in Giant Pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca).
abstract: Dietary shifts can result in changes to the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) microbiota, leading to negative outcomes for the host, including inflammation. Giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) are physiologically classified as carnivores; however, they consume an herbivorous diet with dramatic seasonal dietary shifts and episodes of chronic GIT distress with symptoms including abdominal pain, loss of appetite and the excretion of mucous stools (mucoids). These episodes adversely affect the overall nutritional and health status of giant pandas. Here, we examined the fecal microbiota of two giant pandas' non-mucoid and mucoid stools and compared these to samples from a previous winter season that had historically few mucoid episodes. To identify the microbiota present, we isolated and sequenced the 16S rRNA using next-generation sequencing. Mucoids occurred following a seasonal feeding switch from predominately bamboo culm (stalk) to leaves. All fecal samples displayed low diversity and were dominated by bacteria in the phyla Firmicutes and to a lesser extent, Proteobacteria. Fecal samples immediately prior to mucoid episodes had lower microbial diversity as compared to mucoids. Mucoids were mostly comprised of common mucosal-associated taxa including Streptococcus and Leuconostoc species, and exhibited increased abundance for bacteria in the family Pasteurellaceae. Taken together, these findings indicate that mucoids may represent an expulsion of the mucosal lining that is driven by changes in diet. We suggest that these occurrences serve to reset their GIT microbiota following changes in bamboo part preference, as giant pandas have retained a carnivorous GIT anatomy while shifting to an herbivorous diet.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Entomology and Plant Pathology, Mississippi State UniversityMississippi State, Mississippi, MS, USA; Institute for Genomics, Biocomputing and Biotechnology, Mississippi State UniversityMississippi State, Mississippi, MS, USA.
authors.forename: Candace L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.affiliation: Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI, USA.
authors.forename: Kimberly A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Dill-McFarland
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Entomology and Plant Pathology, Mississippi State University Mississippi State, Mississippi, MS, USA.
authors.forename: Michael W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Vandewege
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Entomology and Plant Pathology, Mississippi State UniversityMississippi State, Mississippi, MS, USA; Mississippi State Chemical LaboratoryMississippi State, Mississippi, MS, USA.
authors.forename: Darrell L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Sparks
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Entomology and Plant Pathology, Mississippi State University Mississippi State, Mississippi, MS, USA.
authors.forename: Scott T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Willard
authors.affiliation: Department of Conservation and Research, Memphis Zoological Society Memphis, TN, USA.
authors.forename: Andrew J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Kouba
authors.affiliation: Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI, USA.
authors.forename: Garret
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Suen
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Entomology and Plant Pathology, Mississippi State UniversityMississippi State, Mississippi, MS, USA; Institute for Genomics, Biocomputing and Biotechnology, Mississippi State UniversityMississippi State, Mississippi, MS, USA; Mississippi State Chemical LaboratoryMississippi State, Mississippi, MS, USA.
authors.forename: Ashli E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Brown
keywords: 16S rRNA sequencing; bamboo part preference; fecal microbiota; mucoid; mucosal microbiota