scholarly journals Establishment of Gut Microbiome During Early Life and Its Relationship With Growth in Endangered Crested Ibis (Nipponia nippon)

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ying Zhu ◽  
Yudong Li ◽  
Haiqiong Yang ◽  
Ke He ◽  
Keyi Tang
Keyword(s):  
Gut Microbiota ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Developmental Stages ◽  
Stages Of Development ◽  
Early Stages ◽  
Nipponia Nippon ◽  
Crested Ibis ◽  
Host Growth ◽  
Frequent Sampling ◽  
Microbiota Diversity

Gut microbiota during early life could influence host fitness in vertebrates. Studies on how gut microbiota colonize the gut in birds using frequent sampling during early developmental stages and how shifts in microbiota diversity influence host growth are lacking. Here, we examine the microbiome profiles of 151 fecal samples from 14 young crested ibis (Nipponia nippon), an endangered bird species, collected longitudinally across 13 time points during the early stages of development and investigated their correlation with host growth. Gut diversity showed a non-linear change during development, which involved multiple colonization and extinction events, mainly associated with Proteobacteria and Firmicutes. Gut microbiota in young crested ibis became more similar with increasing age. In addition, gut microbiota exhibited a strong temporal structure and two specific developmental stages; the beginning of the latter stage coincided with the introduction of fresh loach, with a considerable increase in the relative abundance of Fusobacteria and several Firmicutes, which may be involved in lipid metabolism. Crested ibis chick growth rate was negatively correlated with gut microbiota diversity and negatively associated with the abundance of Halomonadaceae, Streptococci, Corynebacteriaceae, and Dietziaceae. Our findings highlight the importance of frequent sampling when studying microbiome development during early stages of development of vertebrates. The role of microbial diversity in host growth during the early stages of development of birds warrants further investigations.

scholarly journals Metabolite Fruit Profile Is Altered in Response to Source–Sink Imbalance and Can Be Used as an Early Predictor of Fruit Quality in Nectarine

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
María Paz Covarrubias ◽  
Victoria Lillo-Carmona ◽  
Lorena Melet ◽  
Gianfranco Benedetto ◽  
Diego Andrade ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Acids ◽  
Fruit Quality ◽  
Fruit Development ◽  
Prunus Persica ◽  
Developmental Stages ◽  
Soluble Sugars ◽  
Quality Parameters ◽  
Stages Of Development ◽  
Early Stages ◽  
Source Sink

Peaches and nectarines [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch] are among the most exported fresh fruit from Chile to the Northern Hemisphere. Fruit acceptance by final consumers is defined by quality parameters such as the size, weight, taste, aroma, color, and juiciness of the fruit. In peaches and nectarines, the balance between soluble sugars present in the mesocarp and the predominant organic acids determines the taste. Biomass production and metabolite accumulation by fruits occur during the different developmental stages and depend on photosynthesis and carbon export by source leaves. Carbon supply to fruit can be potentiated through the field practice of thinning (removal of flowers and young fruit), leading to a change in the source–sink balance favoring fruit development. Thinning leads to fruit with increased size, but it is not known how this practice could influence fruit quality in terms of individual metabolite composition. In this work, we analyzed soluble metabolite profiles of nectarine fruit cv “Magique” at different developmental stages and from trees subjected to different thinning treatments. Mesocarp metabolites were analyzed throughout fruit development until harvest during two consecutive harvest seasons. Major polar compounds such as soluble sugars, amino acids, organic acids, and some secondary metabolites were measured by quantitative 1H-NMR profiling in the first season and GC-MS profiling in the second season. In addition, harvest and ripening quality parameters such as fruit weight, firmness, and acidity were determined. Our results indicated that thinning (i.e., source–sink imbalance) mainly affects fruit metabolic composition at early developmental stages. Metabolomic data revealed that sugar, organic acid, and phenylpropanoid pathway intermediates at early stages of development can be used to segregate fruits impacted by the change in source–sink balance. In conclusion, we suggest that the metabolite profile at early stages of development could be a metabolic predictor of final fruit quality in nectarines.

A Model of the Development of the Early Infant Object Concept

Perception ◽  
1983 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
George F Luger ◽  
T G R Bower ◽  
Jennifer G Wishart
Keyword(s):  
Computational Model ◽  
Developmental Stages ◽  
Concept Development ◽  
Stages Of Development ◽  
Object Concept ◽  
Early Stages ◽  
Early Infant ◽  
Grammar Rules ◽  
Rewrite Rules ◽  
Motion Parameters

A computational model is proposed for the early stages of development of the object concept in infancy. Stages in development are represented as a sequence of grammars or rewrite rules that parse a set of perceptual phenomena. The infant's changes between developmental stages can be described by differences between the grammar rules that model each stage. The program replicates five studies by Bower et al on the development of the object concept and reaffirms the primacy of rest and motion parameters as explanatory invariants in early object-concept development.

scholarly journals Age Patterning in Wild Chimpanzee Gut Microbiota Diversity Reveals Differences from Humans in Early Life

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aspen T. Reese ◽  
Sarah R. Phillips ◽  
Leah A. Owens ◽  
Emily M. Venable ◽  
Kevin E. Langergraber ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gut Microbiota ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Wild Chimpanzee ◽  
Microbiota Diversity

Crested Ibis (Nipponia nippon)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eloïsa Matheu ◽  
Josep del Hoyo ◽  
Guy M. Kirwan ◽  
Ernest Garcia
Keyword(s):  
Nipponia Nippon ◽  
Crested Ibis

scholarly journals Adaptive response to a future life challenge: consequences of early-life environmental complexity in dual-purpose chicks

2020 ◽  
Vol 98 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chao Yan ◽  
Kate Hartcher ◽  
Wen Liu ◽  
Jinlong Xiao ◽  
Hai Xiang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Gut Microbiota ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Plasma Corticosterone ◽  
Adaptive Plasticity ◽  
Environmental Complexity ◽  
Dual Purpose ◽  
Stress Related Genes ◽  
Life Challenge ◽  
Environmental Challenge

Abstract Conditions in early life play profound and long-lasting effects on the welfare and adaptability to stress of chickens. This study aimed to explore the hypothesis that the provision of environmental complexity in early life improves birds’ adaptive plasticity and ability to cope with a challenge later in life. It also tried to investigate the effect of the gut-brain axis by measuring behavior, stress hormone, gene expression, and gut microbiota. One-day-old chicks were split into 3 groups: (1) a barren environment (without enrichment items) group (BG, n = 40), (2) a litter materials group (LG, n = 40), and (3) a perches with litter materials group (PLG, n = 40). Then, enrichment items were removed and simulated as an environmental challenge at 31 to 53 d of age. Birds were subjected to a predator test at 42 d of age. In the environmental challenge, when compared with LG, PLG birds were characterized by decreased fearfulness, lower plasma corticosterone, improved gut microbial functions, lower relative mRNA expression of GR, and elevated mRNA expressions of stress-related genes CRH, BDNF, and NR2A in the hypothalamus (all P < 0.05). Unexpectedly, the opposite was true for the LG birds when compared with the BG (P < 0.05). Decreased plasma corticosterone and fearfulness were accompanied by altered hypothalamic gene mRNA expressions of BDNF, NR2A, GR, and CRH through the HPA axis in response to altered gut microbial compositions and functions. The findings suggest that gut microbiota may integrate fearfulness, plasma corticosterone, and gene expression in the hypothalamus to provide an insight into the gut-brain axis in chicks. In conclusion, having access to both perches and litter materials in early life allowed birds to cope better with a future challenge. Birds in perches and litter materials environment may have optimal development and adaptive plasticity through the gut-brain axis.

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