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Temporal change in the gut community of rats fed high amylose cornstarch is driven by endogenous urea rather than strictly on carbohydrate availability
Author(s) -
Kalmokoff M.,
Zwicker B.,
O'Hara M.,
Matias F.,
Green J.,
Shastri P.,
GreenJohnson J.,
Brooks S.P.J.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of applied microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.889
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1365-2672
pISSN - 1364-5072
DOI - 10.1111/jam.12157
Subject(s) - bacteroidetes , biology , ruminococcus , gut flora , food science , feces , starch , amylose , firmicutes , microbiology and biotechnology , biochemistry , 16s ribosomal rna , gene
Abstract Aim To examine change in the gut community of rats fed high amylose maize starch ( HAMS ). Methods and Results Rats were fed AIN 93 G diets containing HAMS (5% resistant starch type 2) or alphacell (control). HAMS increased faecal short‐chain fatty acid output, faecal propionate and total bacteria output but reduced gut pH and blood urea concentrations compared with rats ingesting the control diet. Feeding HAMS resulted in a gut community dominated by four phylotypes homologous with R uminococcus bromii, B acteroides uniformis and with yet to be cultivated organisms aligning into the Family P orphyromonadaceae . Enrichment of phylotypes aligning within the Bacteroidetes occurred primarily in the caecum, whereas those homologous with R . bromii were found primarily in the faeces. HAMS altered community structure such that the phylum B acteroidetes represented the dominant gut lineage and progressively reduced faecal community phylotype richness over the duration of feeding. Conclusions Feeding HAMS resulted in a caecal and faecal community dominated by organisms that require ammonia as a primary nitrogen source. Gut ammonia derived from endogenous urea represents an important factor contributing to caecal community composition in addition to the ability to utilize HAMS . Increases in faecal propionate, rather than butyrate as is often observed following resistant starch feeding, reflected a gut community dominated by the B acteroidetes . Significance Diet‐mediated change is often viewed strictly in terms of available carbohydrate. Here, we have shown that ammonia derived from endogenous urea is an important factor contributing to gut community composition and structure in rats fed this substrate.