Dai, X.; Han, Y.-X.; Shen, Q.-Y.; Tang, H.; Cheng, L.-Z.; Yang, F.-P.; Wei, W.-H.; Yang, S.-M. Effect of Food Restriction on Food Grinding in Brandt’s Voles. Animals2023, 13, 3424.
Dai, X.; Han, Y.-X.; Shen, Q.-Y.; Tang, H.; Cheng, L.-Z.; Yang, F.-P.; Wei, W.-H.; Yang, S.-M. Effect of Food Restriction on Food Grinding in Brandt’s Voles. Animals 2023, 13, 3424.
Dai, X.; Han, Y.-X.; Shen, Q.-Y.; Tang, H.; Cheng, L.-Z.; Yang, F.-P.; Wei, W.-H.; Yang, S.-M. Effect of Food Restriction on Food Grinding in Brandt’s Voles. Animals2023, 13, 3424.
Dai, X.; Han, Y.-X.; Shen, Q.-Y.; Tang, H.; Cheng, L.-Z.; Yang, F.-P.; Wei, W.-H.; Yang, S.-M. Effect of Food Restriction on Food Grinding in Brandt’s Voles. Animals 2023, 13, 3424.
Abstract
Food-grinding occurs in rodents and is influenced by multiple-factors. However, the factors affecting this behavior remain unclear. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of food restriction on food grinding by Brandt’s voles (Lasiopodomys brandtii), as well as the potential role of the gut microbiota in this process, through a comparison of the variations between voles with different food supplies. Food restriction reduced the relative amount of ground food to a greater extent than it lowered the relative food consumption, and altered the abundance of Staphylococcus, Aerococcus, Jeotgalicoccus, and Un--s-Clostridiaceae bacterium GM1. Strong correlations between the ground-to-consumed food ratio and the abundance of fecal microbiota were found for Un--s-Clostridiaceae bacterium GM1 and Aerococcus. The content of fecal acetate and propionate for the 7.5 g-food supply group was lower than that for the 15 g-food supply group. Further, the relative amount of ground food and ground-to-consumed food ratio were both positively correlated with the acetate content. Our study indicated that food restriction can effectively inhibit food grinding. Further, Un--s-Clostridiaceae bacterium GM1 abundance, Aerococcus abundance, and acetate content were strongly related to food grinding. Variations in gut microbial abundance and metabolite short-chain fatty acid content induced by food restriction likely promote the inhibition of food grinding. These results could potentially provide guidance for reducing food waste during laboratory rodent maintenance.
Biology and Life Sciences, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.