Doctoral Dissertation Research: The influence of plant secondary metabolites on diet selection, nutrition, and health in wild primates

博士论文研究：植物次生代谢产物对野生灵长类动物饮食选择、营养和健康的影响

• 批准号: 2141917
• 负责人: Erin Vogel
• 金额: $ 2.31万
• 依托单位: Rutgers University New Brunswick
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-03-15 至 2025-02-28
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2141917&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Research; influence; plant

The behavior, health, and digestive physiology of humans and non-human primates have evolved to meet the demands of acquiring adequate nutrition. Primarily plant-eating primates must reach nutritional requirements while coping with noxious plant compounds (plant secondary metabolites: PSMs) that are often produced in plants. Although these compounds are thought to be a strong selective force on primates, and even responsible for technological innovations in food processing and domestication in humans, we lack a clear idea of how these compounds influence the foraging, health, and digestive adaptations of wild primates. This doctoral dissertation research project examines the behavioral and physiological strategies that a wild primate species uses to cope with PSMs while reaching nutritional goals. This research will promote the conservation of a critically endangered species by maintaining a research presence on productive conservation land and providing local field assistants with alternative livelihoods to logging. The investigators will also provide training in laboratory and field methods to underrepresented students in STEM.While it has become clear that the foraging behavior and health status of wild primates is linked to the nutrient composition of their foods, PSMs should also be a primary determinant of primate diets and health because of the negative effects that they can have, including reduced nutrient intake, toxicity, or even reduced reproductive success. This study uses a model system to explore how both nutrients and tannins, a common class of PSM, guide food selection through variable periods of preferred food availability and nutritional status, and throughout the course of development. Tannins are thought to be detrimental to consumers because they bind and reduce dietary protein, and the primates studied in this project depend on protein-derived energy to meet energetic demands during periods of preferred food scarcity. Tannins may thus be particularly detrimental to their health, and they may therefore have behavioral or physiological strategies to deal with them. The investigators use data on food availability, feeding behavior, nutrient composition of plant foods, and results from a qualitative assay of the effectiveness of tannins in food, to test how tannins and nutrients affect food selection and preference. The investigators also measure biomarkers of health in urine samples, including C-peptide of insulin and creatinine, to see if health status is related to intake of tannin-rich foods. Finally, they quantify tannin-binding proteins in saliva, which are thought to be produced as an adaptation to cope with dietary tannins. Overall, the results of this project provide important knowledge regarding food availability, preferences and nutritional and health related consequences in primates.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

人类和非人类灵长类动物的行为、健康和消化生理学已经进化到满足获得足够营养的需求。灵长类食草灵长类动物必须满足营养需求，同时应对植物中经常产生的有毒植物化合物（植物次级代谢产物：PSM）。虽然这些化合物被认为是对灵长类动物的强大选择力，甚至是人类食品加工和驯化技术创新的原因，但我们对这些化合物如何影响野生灵长类动物的觅食，健康和消化适应缺乏明确的认识。这个博士论文研究项目研究了野生灵长类动物在达到营养目标的同时用来科普PSM的行为和生理策略。这项研究将通过在生产性保护土地上保持研究存在，并为当地实地助理提供伐木的替代生计，促进对极度濒危物种的保护。研究人员还将为STEM领域代表性不足的学生提供实验室和实地方法的培训。虽然很明显，野生灵长类动物的觅食行为和健康状况与其食物的营养成分有关，但PSM也应该是灵长类动物饮食和健康的主要决定因素，因为它们可能产生负面影响，包括减少营养摄入，毒性，甚至降低繁殖成功率。本研究使用一个模型系统，探讨如何营养素和单宁，PSM的一个共同的类，引导食物的选择，通过可变时期的首选食物供应和营养状况，并在整个发展过程中。单宁被认为对消费者有害，因为它们会结合并减少膳食蛋白质，而本项目中研究的灵长类动物依赖于蛋白质来源的能量来满足首选食物短缺期间的能量需求。因此，单宁可能对他们的健康特别有害，因此他们可能有行为或生理策略来处理它们。研究人员使用有关食物可用性，喂养行为，植物性食物营养成分的数据，以及对食物中单宁有效性的定性分析结果，来测试单宁和营养物质如何影响食物选择和偏好。研究人员还测量了尿液样本中的健康生物标志物，包括胰岛素和肌酐的C肽，以了解健康状况是否与摄入富含单宁的食物有关。最后，他们对唾液中的单宁结合蛋白进行了定量，这种蛋白被认为是为了适应饮食中的单宁而产生的。总的来说，这个项目的结果提供了重要的知识，关于食物的可用性，偏好和营养和健康相关的后果在灵长类动物。这个奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过评估使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准的支持。