The giant panda gut microbiome

Fuwen Wei; Xiao Wang; Qi Wu

doi:10.1016/j.tim.2015.06.004

The giant panda gut microbiome

Trends Microbiol. 2015 Aug;23(8):450-2. doi: 10.1016/j.tim.2015.06.004. Epub 2015 Jul 1.

Authors

Fuwen Wei¹, Xiao Wang², Qi Wu²

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China. Electronic address: weifw@ioz.ac.cn.
² Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.

PMID: 26143242
DOI: 10.1016/j.tim.2015.06.004

Abstract

Giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) are bamboo specialists that evolved from carnivores. Their gut microbiota probably aids in the digestion of cellulose and this is considered an example of gut microbiota adaptation to a bamboo diet. However, this issue remains unresolved and further functional and compositional studies are needed.

Keywords: 16S rRNA gene; giant panda; gut microbiome; metagenomics.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Cellulose / metabolism
Feeding Behavior
Gastrointestinal Microbiome*
Ursidae / microbiology*

Substances

Cellulose