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The recent season with bamboo shoots is especially conducive to the growth of giant pandas, who will become more round and cute. Do you know what this has to do with the intestinal flora in their stomachs?
As early as January 18, 2022, an article led by Academician Wei Fuwen and Professor Wei Hong published in the journal Cell Reports revealed the underlying mechanism. It turns out that during the bamboo shoot season, microorganisms such as Clostridium butyricum in the intestines of giant pandas increase significantly, which will produce more short-chain fatty acids, which will eventually promote fat accumulation.
In evolutionary history, giant pandas were originally carnivores and did not eat bamboo or bamboo shoots. The exact reason for the change in their feeding habits is unknown, but scientists are already convinced that many microorganisms are helping the pandas "live on bamboo".
For example, Professor Li Ying, Professor Zhao Jiangchao and their team published an article in the journal Microbiome on August 14, 2023, introducing how "non-lactocose streptococcus" can help giant pandas metabolize protein to help giant pandas adapt to the bamboo diet.
In giant pandas, we see the symbiosis of the gut microbiota with the original carnivores. With the help of microorganisms, giant pandas can happily digest the cellulose, hemicellulose, starch, protein and pectin in bamboo.
However, humans are more familiar with the significance of microbes to ruminants such as cattle, sheep and deer.
The microorganisms of the digestive tract of ruminants are mainly in the rumen, which can degrade indigestible plant components into soluble cellulose and hemicellulose, and then further degrade them into short-chain fatty acids, methanol, carbon dioxide, hydrogen and other substances, and then some microorganisms use these substances, some of which produce more short-chain fatty acids, and the other part produces a large amount of methane.
The amount of methane is so large that it even affects the Earth's climate!
Let's talk about human beings. In the past decade, we have also had a revolutionary new understanding of the role of human intestinal flora.
They help you digest what you can't digest, they help you produce what you can't produce yourself, including some molecules that affect your mood, they also help you defend yourself in the intestines and outside the intestines, which plays a key role in your child's growth and development, and even what you eat tonight may be partly because they want to eat.
They're so powerful, they're so small that you can't see them, but they're not small at all!
This graph, published in the journal Cell on May 13, 2021, depicts the comprehensive and profound impact of the microbiota (mainly the gut microbiota) on host physiology.
Whether it is an animal or a human, if it dies or is buried in the wild, the corpse will be decomposed by microorganisms. These microorganisms include not only microorganisms from soil, air, insects, etc., but also intestinal microorganisms from corpses.
So
Who are you?
You are an ecosystem of yourself and your microbes.
Where are you from?
Your parents gave birth to you and raised you, but your body and mind are essentially part of a larger and more complete ecosystem.
Where are you going?
Your flesh and microbes will eventually return to the Earth's ecosystem.
Tiny creatures, in fact, are the protagonists of ecology, and their role is beyond imagination!
Conflict of Interest Statement
Conflict of Interest Statement
He is the co-founder and executive editor of iMeta journal, holds positions in professional institutions such as national societies, and serves as a university chair professor.
However, readers should be reminded that the company he founded and mainly works in, Beijing Warm Heart Biotechnology Research Institute Co., Ltd., is a for-profit commercial organization, and he also serves as chairman and director of this company and a number of affiliated companies.
In addition, he is also a consultant or consultant officially employed by Shanghai Pharmaceutical, H&H Group, Mengniu Group and other enterprises, and provides strategy, product and other consulting services for many other enterprises.
Mr. Warmheart benefits from the above-mentioned for-profit organizations through shareholdings, salaries, dividends and consulting fees, and although he always wants to uphold a scientific, objective and impartial attitude at the time of writing, the following conflicts of interest may inevitably exist due to the above reasons:
- Loss of rigor, objectivity, and professionalism in science communication due to commercial motives.
- Emphasis is placed on the products and services of interested companies and other potential options are neglected.
- Emphasize the strengths of the stakeholder companies and downplay their weaknesses.
In order to avoid and reduce the non-objectivity caused by conflicts of interest, Mr. Warmheart will take the following measures:
- This statement is made public, clearly indicating the relationship between the interested companies.
- Evaluate all organizations, including stakeholder companies, objectively and fairly.
- Readers are encouraged to make criticisms and suggestions and to improve them.
When reading Mr. Warmheart's articles, readers should pay attention to understanding his business background, and maintain rational judgment and critical thinking.