Gut microbiome-driven longevity mechanisms in giant pandas: age-associated gut microbial shifts, functional pathways, and probiotic insights.

Authors

Feiyun Huang, Xiwei Jin, Jiawang Xu, Honglin Wu, Maoyuan Gan, Wenjingyi Chang, Qihao Tan, Yuhang Wang, Rengui Li, Desheng Li, Xiuyue Zhang

Published in

Current zoology. Volume 72. Issue 5. Pages 616-638. Epub Nov 21, 2025.

Abstract

Microbiome-mediated longevity mechanisms in conservation wildlife remain largely uncharacterized, particularly in species with specialized diets where host-microbe coevolution plays essential compensatory roles. We conducted cross-sectional metagenomic profiling of gut microbiota in 82 captive giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) spanning juvenile, adult, and geriatric cohorts. The cohort included 14 long-lived individuals (≥25 years). Our approach integrated enterotype analysis, functional pathway characterization, and lactic acid bacteria (LAB) isolation. Age-specific compositional shifts occurred throughout the lifespan, characterized by reciprocal dominance between Bacillota (declining from 84.77% to 10.26%) and Pseudomonadota (increasing from 12.74% to 81.86%). Streptococcus dominated adolescent microbiomes, followed by a transition to cellulose-degrading taxa in young adults. Enterotype analysis revealed 4 distinct community types with age-dependent succession patterns. Long-lived pandas exhibited elevated abundance of Akkermansia muciniphila, Bifidobacterium longum, Lactobacillus intestinalis, and Ruminococcus gnavus. Functional profiling revealed age-dependent shifts from nucleotide and amino acid biosynthesis in young animals to lipid metabolism and amino acid degradation in aged individuals. Carbohydrate-active enzyme analysis demonstrated enrichment of cellulolytic enzymes (such as GH3, GH5, and GH9) in long-lived adults. Biosynthetic gene cluster profiling revealed progressive age-associated accumulation of genes encoding NRPS, RiPP-like, arylpolyene, and terpene biosynthetic pathways. Culture-based isolation from fecal samples of long-lived giant pandas yielded 98 LAB strains representing 8 species (Lactobacillus johnsonii, Limosilactobacillus reuteri, L. intestinalis, among others), including 89 non-hemolytic strains that were sensitive to 6 common antibiotics. These findings suggest potential cross-species conservation of microbiome-longevity mechanisms, with implications for understanding physiological adaptations in specialist herbivores and applications in conservation medicine.

PMID:
42920530
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 24 Oct 2026.

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