Mutualistic fermentative digestion in the gastrointestinal tract: diversity and evolution - PubMed

Mutualistic fermentative digestion in the gastrointestinal tract: diversity and evolution

Roderick I Mackie. Integr Comp Biol. 2002 Apr.

Abstract

All animals, including humans, are adapted to life in a microbial world. Anaerobic habitats have existed continuously throughout the history of the earth, the gastrointestinal tract being a contemporary microniche. Since microorganisms colonize and grow rapidly under the favorable conditions in the gut they could compete for nutrients with the host. This microbial challenge has modified the course of evolution in animals, resulting in selection of complex animal-microbe relationships that vary tremendously, ranging from competition to cooperation. The ecological and evolutionary interactions between herbivorous dinosaurs and the first mammalian herbivores and their food plants are reconstructed using knowledge gained during the study of modern living vertebrates, especially foregut and hindgut fermenting mammals. The ruminant is well adapted to achieve maximal digestion of roughage using the physiological mechanism at the reticulo-omasal orifice which selectively retains large particles in the reticulo-rumen. However, the most obvious feature of all ruminants is the regurgitation, rechewing and reswallowing of foregut digesta termed rumination. Foregut fermenting mammals also share interesting and unique features in two enzymes, stomach lysozyme and pancreatic ribonuclease which accompany and are adaptations to this mode of digestion. The microbial community inhabiting the gastrointestinal tract is represented by all major groups of microbes (bacteria, archaea, ciliate protozoa, anaerobic fungi and bacteriophage) and characterized by its high population density, wide diversity and complexity of interactions. The development and application of molecular ecology techniques promises to link distribution and identity of gastrointestinal microbes in their natural environment with their genetic potential and in situ activities.

Similar articles

• The maximum attainable body size of herbivorous mammals: morphophysiological constraints on foregut, and adaptations of hindgut fermenters.

  Clauss M, Frey R, Kiefer B, Lechner-Doll M, Loehlein W, Polster C, Rössner GE, Streich WJ. Clauss M, et al. Oecologia. 2003 Jun;136(1):14-27. doi: 10.1007/s00442-003-1254-z. Epub 2003 Apr 24. Oecologia. 2003. PMID: 12712314

• Contributions of microbes in vertebrate gastrointestinal tract to production and conservation of nutrients.

  Stevens CE, Hume ID. Stevens CE, et al. Physiol Rev. 1998 Apr;78(2):393-427. doi: 10.1152/physrev.1998.78.2.393. Physiol Rev. 1998. PMID: 9562034 Review.

• [Mixing and propulsion of the contents of the reticulo-rumen].

  Baumont R, Deswysen AG. Baumont R, et al. Reprod Nutr Dev. 1991;31(4):335-59. Reprod Nutr Dev. 1991. PMID: 1660717 Review. French.

• Review: Comparative methane production in mammalian herbivores.

  Clauss M, Dittmann MT, Vendl C, Hagen KB, Frei S, Ortmann S, Müller DWH, Hammer S, Munn AJ, Schwarm A, Kreuzer M. Clauss M, et al. Animal. 2020 Mar;14(S1):s113-s123. doi: 10.1017/S1751731119003161. Animal. 2020. PMID: 32024568 Review.

• Biology of gut anaerobic fungi.

  Bauchop T. Bauchop T. Biosystems. 1989;23(1):53-64. doi: 10.1016/0303-2647(89)90008-7. Biosystems. 1989. PMID: 2560409 Review.

Cited by

• Transcriptome Analysis Reveals That Alfalfa Promotes Rumen Development Through Enhanced Metabolic Processes and Calcium Transduction in Hu Lambs.

  Yang B, Chen H, Cao J, He B, Wang S, Luo Y, Wang J. Yang B, et al. Front Genet. 2019 Oct 3;10:929. doi: 10.3389/fgene.2019.00929. eCollection 2019. Front Genet. 2019. PMID: 31632445 Free PMC article.

• A quantitative study of the morphological development and bacterial colonisation of the gut of the tammar wallaby Macropus eugenii eugenii and brushtail possum Trichosurus vulpecula during in-pouch development.

  Lentle RG, Dey D, Hulls C, Mellor DJ, Moughan PJ, Stafford KJ, Nicholas K. Lentle RG, et al. J Comp Physiol B. 2006 Nov;176(8):763-74. doi: 10.1007/s00360-006-0097-4. Epub 2006 Jul 4. J Comp Physiol B. 2006. PMID: 16819652

• Characterization and Comparison of Microbiota in the Gastrointestinal Tracts of the Goat (Capra hircus) During Preweaning Development.

  Li B, Zhang K, Li C, Wang X, Chen Y, Yang Y. Li B, et al. Front Microbiol. 2019 Sep 13;10:2125. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2019.02125. eCollection 2019. Front Microbiol. 2019. PMID: 31572331 Free PMC article.

• Physical, Metabolic, and Microbial Rumen Development in Goat Kids: A Review on the Challenges and Strategies of Early Weaning.

  Abdelsattar MM, Zhao W, Saleem AM, Kholif AE, Vargas-Bello-Pérez E, Zhang N. Abdelsattar MM, et al. Animals (Basel). 2023 Jul 26;13(15):2420. doi: 10.3390/ani13152420. Animals (Basel). 2023. PMID: 37570229 Free PMC article. Review.

• The faecal metabolome of black howler monkeys (Alouatta pigra) varies in response to seasonal dietary changes.

  Mallott EK, Skovmand LH, Garber PA, Amato KR. Mallott EK, et al. Mol Ecol. 2022 Aug;31(15):4146-4161. doi: 10.1111/mec.16559. Epub 2022 Jun 21. Mol Ecol. 2022. PMID: 35665560 Free PMC article.

LinkOut - more resources

• Full Text Sources

  • Silverchair Information Systems