A Diet Diverse in Bamboo Parts is Important for Giant Panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) Metabolism and Health

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the metabolic response in giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) to the consumption of certain parts of bamboo above ground growth. Giant pandas were provisioned with three species of bamboo: Phyllostachys bissetii, of which they only consume the culm (culm group); Bashania fargesii, of which they only consume the leaves (leaf group); and Qiongzhuea opienensis, of which they only consume the shoots (shoot group). The “culm” group absorbed the highest amount of calories and fiber, but was in short energy supply (depressed tricarboxylic acid cycle activity), and high fiber level diet might reduce the digestibility of protein. The “culm” and “leaf” groups absorbed less protein, and had a lower rate of body mass growth than the “shoot” group. Digestion of fiber requires energy input and yields low caloric extraction from the culm and leaf, and protein intake is important for increasing body mass. However, long-term consumption of shoots may have a potentially negative effect on the health because of high protein composition. Therefore, a balanced diet consisting of diverse plant parts of bamboo is important for the overall metabolic function and health of captive giant pandas.

Integrated application of transcriptomics and metabolomics provides insights into glycogen content regulation in the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas

“…The detection of the metabolites were referred to methods of Hairui Wang et al in 2017 [ 30 ]. In brief, GC–TOF–MS analysis was carried out utilizing an Agilent 7890 gas chromatograph system with the addition of a Pegasus 4D time-of-flight mass spectrometer.…”

“…Temperature for injection, ion source, and transfer line were 280, 220, and 295 °C respectively, with the −70 eV energy in electron impact mode. Mass spectrometry data were collected in full-scan mode with a range of 30–600 m/z at a rate of 20 spectra per second after a solvent delay of 7 min [ 30 ].…”

Transcriptome Profiling across Five Tissues of Giant Panda

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