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Scientists have figured out how giant pandas remain ‘cheeky’ despite a tough bamboo diet

Giant pandas feed on bamboo leaves and young shoots, but have an impressive weight.

The giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) has a characteristic carnivore digestive system with a short gastrointestinal tract. But at the same time, pandas very rarely eat meat, and eat exclusively bamboo – low-fat and relatively low-quality food. Chinese scientists decided to find out how, on such a rather rigid diet, these representatives of the bears manage to have a high body weight, writes Cell Reports.

In the wild, the giant panda’s diet varies with the season: the animals feed exclusively on leaves for 8 months of the year (typically late August to April), but preferentially consume young shoots when available (typically late April to August). The daily body weight gain of giant pandas is significantly higher during the shoot season compared to the leaf season. Bamboo leaves contain high amounts of hemicellulose and cellulose, while shoots contain more available carbohydrates and proteins. However, both shoots and leaves contain little fat.

Chinese scientists studied the microbiome of giant pandas – that is, the community of microorganisms that inhabit the body.

In the study, they transferred the panda’s fecal microbiota (using a processed fragment of their feces) into germ-free lab mice. At the same time, some rodents got the microbiota of the summer months, when the panda eats young bamboo shoots, and the other – the winter months, when the panda has to eat the leaves. The mice were fed shoots or bamboo leaves.

According to the results of the study, in the “summer” microbiota there are more bacteria Clostridium butyricum, whose enzymes help host organisms to receive more butyrates, salts or esters of butyric acid. The abundance of butyrates activated the Per2 gene, which is responsible for more active synthesis of phospholipids by the liver. As a result, mice with a “summer” panda microbiota grew and gained weight faster than rodents with a “winter” microbiota.

This study demonstrated that seasonal shifts in the gut microbiome influence growth rates, contributing to a better understanding of host-microbial interactions in wild mammals.

Now the scientists are going to investigate whether the lack of diversity in individual pandas’ microbiomes in the wild may be reducing their chances of survival and fitness.

Note that giant pandas are found in nature only in the mountainous regions of Central China in bamboo forests. Interestingly, pandas eat up to 16 hours a day and consume up to 18 kilograms of food.

Previously Scientists have figured out how the “illogical” color of pandas helps them survive.

Also Focus wrote, how the clumsiest species managed to avoid extinction. Recently, pandas have been officially removed from the list of endangered species. But the survival of bamboo bears is still at risk.

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