TY - JOUR
T1 - The Gut Microbiota Modulates Energy Metabolism in the Hibernating Brown Bear Ursus arctos
AU - Sommer, Felix
AU - Ståhlman, Marcus
AU - Ilkayeva, Olga
AU - Arnemo, Jon M
AU - Kindberg, Jonas
AU - Josefsson, Johan
AU - Newgard, Christopher B
AU - Fröbert, Ole
AU - Bäckhed, Gert Fredrik
N1 - Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
PY - 2016/2/23
Y1 - 2016/2/23
N2 - Hibernation is an adaptation that helps many animals to conserve energy during food shortage in winter. Brown bears double their fat depots during summer and use these stored lipids during hibernation. Although bears seasonally become obese, they remain metabolically healthy. We analyzed the microbiota of free-ranging brown bears during their active phase and hibernation. Compared to the active phase, hibernation microbiota had reduced diversity, reduced levels of Firmicutes and Actinobacteria, and increased levels of Bacteroidetes. Several metabolites involved in lipid metabolism, including triglycerides, cholesterol, and bile acids, were also affected by hibernation. Transplantation of the bear microbiota from summer and winter to germ-free mice transferred some of the seasonal metabolic features and demonstrated that the summer microbiota promoted adiposity without impairing glucose tolerance, suggesting that seasonal variation in the microbiota may contribute to host energy metabolism in the hibernating brown bear.
AB - Hibernation is an adaptation that helps many animals to conserve energy during food shortage in winter. Brown bears double their fat depots during summer and use these stored lipids during hibernation. Although bears seasonally become obese, they remain metabolically healthy. We analyzed the microbiota of free-ranging brown bears during their active phase and hibernation. Compared to the active phase, hibernation microbiota had reduced diversity, reduced levels of Firmicutes and Actinobacteria, and increased levels of Bacteroidetes. Several metabolites involved in lipid metabolism, including triglycerides, cholesterol, and bile acids, were also affected by hibernation. Transplantation of the bear microbiota from summer and winter to germ-free mice transferred some of the seasonal metabolic features and demonstrated that the summer microbiota promoted adiposity without impairing glucose tolerance, suggesting that seasonal variation in the microbiota may contribute to host energy metabolism in the hibernating brown bear.
U2 - 10.1016/j.celrep.2016.01.026
DO - 10.1016/j.celrep.2016.01.026
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 26854221
SN - 2211-1247
VL - 14
SP - 1655
EP - 1661
JO - Cell Reports
JF - Cell Reports
IS - 7
ER -