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

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，以满足获得足够营养的需求。首先，以植物为食的灵长类动物必须达到营养要求，同时应对有毒的植物化合物(植物次生代谢物：PSMS)，这些化合物通常是在植物中产生的。尽管这些化合物被认为对灵长类动物具有很强的选择性，甚至对人类食物加工和驯化的技术创新负有责任，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清楚的认识。这篇博士论文研究项目考察了野生灵长类动物在达到营养目标的同时，用来应对PSM的行为和生理策略。这项研究将通过在生产性养护土地上保持研究存在，并为当地实地助理提供伐木以外的替代生计，促进对极度濒危物种的保护。研究人员还将向STEM中代表性不足的学生提供实验室和野外方法方面的培训。虽然野生灵长类的觅食行为和健康状况显然与其食物的营养成分有关，但PSM也应该是灵长类饮食和健康的主要决定因素，因为它们可能会产生负面影响，包括减少营养摄入量、毒性，甚至降低繁殖成功率。这项研究使用一个模型系统来探索营养素和单宁(PSM的一种常见类别)如何在不同的优先食物可获得性和营养状态的不同时期以及在整个发育过程中指导食物选择。单宁被认为对消费者有害，因为它们结合并减少了饮食蛋白质，而在这个项目中研究的灵长类动物依靠蛋白质衍生的能量来满足首选食物稀缺期的能量需求。因此，单宁可能对他们的健康特别有害，因此他们可能会有行为或生理策略来应对。研究人员使用关于食物可获得性、摄食行为、植物食物的营养成分的数据，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的选择和偏好。研究人员还测量尿样中的健康生物标记物，包括胰岛素和肌酐的C-肽，以确定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量化，这种蛋白被认为是为了适应饮食中的单宁而产生的。总体而言，该项目的结果提供了有关灵长类动物的食物可获得性、偏好以及与营养和健康相关的后果的重要知识。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

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.