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Science for Sapiens A year in research (2024)

here are animals that adapt better to en-
vironmental changes and the key to this
lies in their DNA and microbiome. A re-
cent study, led by teams from the Insti-
tute for Animal Science and Technology
of the Polytechnic University of Valencia
(UPV) and the Institute for Agri-food and
T Agri-Environmental Research and Inno-
vation (CIAGRO) of the University Miguel Hernández (UMH)
of Elche, concludes that the immune system is influenced
differently by the bacterial composition of each population.
Researchers from the University of Lleida (UdL) have also
participated in the work. Its results could improve animal
welfare and the sustainability of the livestock sector.

The research is the first in the field of animal genetic impro-
vement to have identified gut bacteria that may be influen-
cing animals’ ability to adapt to environmental changes,
that is, affecting their resilience. In addition, these bacteria,
in turn, could be regulated by the genes of these animals.
In this way, the results obtained by the UPV and UMH team
could contribute to improving animal welfare and the sus-
tainability of the livestock sector.
Analysis of gut microbiome commissibility in rabbit populations.
Source: Casto-Rebollo, C. et al., 2023, Microbiome.
The immune system is key to responding against environ-
mental threats, such as infection by external pathogens, as
explained in the scientific work. The identification they have
achieved of these bacterial species highlights the impor- The immune system
tance of the immune system in the regulation of resilience.
They have identified genes and species that contribute to a is influenced differently by
better health of the individual, therefore, to a greater capa- the bacterial composition
city for adaptation.
of each animal population
To reach these conclusions, the teams of the UPV, the UMH
and the UdL compared the microbial composition of two li-
nes of rabbits in the same environment, with a common ge-
netic origin but divergently selected. The lines were selec-
ted divergently in the UMH for 13 generations, taking into the less resilient line (Eggerthella sp and Acetatifactor mu-
account a specific phenotype: the environmental variance ris). The study has also identified microbial pathway genes
of litter size. The importance of this phenotype lies in its rela- that could help regulate the immune system.
tionship with the ability of the animal to counteract or cope
with environmental changes, without its production being All these results suggest that the immune system is influen-
harmed or recovering it in an optimal and rapid way. That ced differently by the bacterial composition of each animal
is, it has been observed that animals with a lower environ- population. This work opens the door for the livestock sec-
mental variance in their litter size are more resilient animals. tor to apply this knowledge in the future to study the com-
position of bacteria in their animals and select those most
Using different bioinformatics tools, the UPV team analysed suitable to modulate resilience. A selection based on the
a representation of animals from both rabbit populations. microbiome could be made and, in addition, the benefits
Through various statistical methodologies, they identified of developing probiotics based on these bacterial species
several groups of bacteria and bacterial genes that ena- could be studied to modify animal resilience in a simpler,
bled classifying and predicting which animal belonged to cheaper and more applicable way on a large scale, the
each population with a reliability greater than 90%. In total, study concludes.
35 species of bacteria were identified. Although the effect
caused by many of them is confusing or unknown, some of The work has been led by researchers from the Polytech-
the identified ones regulate immune activity and could be nical University of Valencia (UPV), belonging to the Institu-
affecting the health status of rabbits and therefore their re- te for Animal Science and Technology (ICTA), and resear-
silience. chers from UMH belonging to the Institute for Agri-food and
Agri-Environmental Research and Innovation (CIAGRO) has
Among the groups of bacteria, the researchers explain, spe- verified how the immune system is influenced differently ac-
cies beneficial to the health of the individual were observed cording to the bacterial composition of each animal. The re-
in the more resilient animals – such as Limosilactobacillus sults of this study, in which researchers from the University
fermentum and Odoribacter splanchnicus – while the most of Lleida (UdL) have also participated, have been published
harmful species were detected with greater abundance in in the journal Microbiome.

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