The Hibernator Microbiome: Host-Bacterial Interactions in an Extreme Nutritional Symbiosis

Animals that undergo seasonal cycles of feeding and fasting have adaptations that maintain integrity of organ systems when dietary nutrients are lacking. Food deprivation also challenges the gut microbiota, which relies heavily on host diet for metabolic substrates and the gastrointestinal tract, wh...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Annual review of nutrition 2017-08, Vol.37 (1), p.477-500
Main Authors: Carey, Hannah V, Assadi-Porter, Fariba M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Diet
enteral nutrition
fasting
Food
Gastrointestinal Microbiome - physiology
Gastrointestinal Tract - metabolism
Gastrointestinal Tract - physiology
gut bacteria
hibernation
Hibernation - physiology
microbiota
Periodicity
Symbiosis
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Request full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Animals that undergo seasonal cycles of feeding and fasting have adaptations that maintain integrity of organ systems when dietary nutrients are lacking. Food deprivation also challenges the gut microbiota, which relies heavily on host diet for metabolic substrates and the gastrointestinal tract, which is influenced by enteral nutrients and microbial activity. Winter fasting in hibernators shifts the microbiota to favor taxa with the capacity to degrade and utilize host-derived substrates and disfavor taxa that prefer complex plant polysaccharides. Microbiome alterations may contribute to hibernation-induced changes in the intestinal immune system, epithelial barrier function, and other host features that are affected by microbial short-chain fatty acids and other metabolites. Understanding mechanisms by which the hibernator host and its gut symbionts adapt to the altered nutritional landscape during winter fasting may provide insights into protective mechanisms that are compromised when nonhibernating species, such as humans, undergo long periods of enteral nutrient deprivation.
ISSN:0199-9885
1545-4312
DOI:10.1146/annurev-nutr-071816-064740