









































































Lowbush blueberries, Vaccinium angustifolium, modulate the functional potential of nutrient utilization and DNA maintenance mechanisms in the rat proximal colon microbiota
							| Functional Foods in Health and Disease - Online ISSN: 2160-3855; Print ISSN: 2378-7007



	

				
						
 
	Skip to main content
	Skip to main navigation menu
		Skip to site footer


			

				
					
						Open Menu
					
										
																Functional Foods in Health and Disease - Online ISSN: 2160-3855; Print ISSN: 2378-7007
										

				


				
				
					
					
						
																					
				
					Home
				
										
									
										Food Science Publisher
									
								
	
									
										Functional Food Center
									
								


							
	
				
					Current
				
							
	
				
					Archives
				
							
	
				
					About
				
										
									
										About the Journal
									
								
	
									
										Aims and Scope
									
								
	
									
										Contact
									
								
	
									
										Editing Services
									
								
	
									
										Editorial Team
									
								
	
									
										Express Peer Review
									
								
	
									
										Graphical Abstract
									
								
	
									
										Journal Insights
									
								
	
									
										Privacy Statement
									
								
	
									
										Submissions
									
								


							
	
				
					Announcements
				
							
	
				
					Search
				
							



				

																						
									
										
										Search
									
								

													

					

					
								
				
					Register
				
							
	
				
					Login
				
							



					

				
			

		

						
			
				


			
		
			
				Home
			
			/
		
	
			
				Archives
			
			/
		
	
				
					Vol. 2 No. 6 (2012): June 2012
				
				/
			
	
			
									Research Articles
							
		



	
		  	 

		
	
		Lowbush blueberries, Vaccinium angustifolium, modulate the functional potential of nutrient utilization and DNA maintenance mechanisms in the rat proximal colon microbiota
	


	
	
		

							
					Authors

						
							
								Alison Lacombe
							
															
									Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, The University of Maine, 5735 Hitchner Hall, Orono, ME 04469
																	
																																		
	
							
								Robert W. Li
							
															
									United States Department of Agriculture ARS, Beltsville, MD
																	
																																		
	
							
								Dorothy Klimis-Zacas
							
															
									Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, The University of Maine, 5735 Hitchner Hall, Orono, ME 04469
																	
																																		
	
							
								Aleksandra S. Kristo
							
															
									Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, The University of Maine, 5735 Hitchner Hall, Orono, ME 04469
																	
																																		
	
							
								Shravani Tadepalli
							
															
									Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, The University of Maine, 5735 Hitchner Hall, Orono, ME 04469
																	
																																		
	
							
								Emily Krauss
							
															
									Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, The University of Maine, 5735 Hitchner Hall, Orono, ME 04469
																	
																																		
	
							
								Ryan Young
							
															
									Department of Molecular and Biomedical Sciences, The University of Maine, Orono, ME, 04469
																	
																																		
	
							
								Vivian C. H. Wu
							
															
									Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, The University of Maine, 5735 Hitchner Hall, Orono, ME 04469
																	
																																		


				
			
																	
					
												DOI:
					

					
						
							https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v2i6.87
						
					
				
			

						
										
					Abstract

					Background: The core gut microbiota encodes for a metabolic capacity that often surpasses the metabolic potential of its host. Lowbush wild blueberries (LWB) are a rich source of bioactive compounds, and the gut microbiota is an important modulator of their activity. The objective of this research is to study the effect of a diet enriched with LWB on the gastrointestinal microbiota’s metabolic potential. 
Methods: Nine three-week-old male Sprague Dawley rats were randomly assigned to two groups. The control group (N=4) was placed on the AIN93 diet, and the treatment group (N=5) was fed the same diet with 8% (w/w) LWB powder substituting for dextrose. The animals consumed the diets for six weeks, after which they were sacrificed. Functional profiles and metabolic potential of the colon microbiota in response to diet were analyzed using deep whole genome sequencing (WGS). 
Results: Proteins predicted from WGS DNA sequences were assigned to 3,746 COG, 5,577 KEGG, and 4,474 Pfam families. Statistical comparisons of the protein-coding genes revealed significant changes in 25 Gene Ontology (GO), 186 KEGG, and 20 Pfam protein families representing 2.1%, 3.3%, and 0.02% of all hits identified, respectively. Overall, the combined inquires into these databases represented an emphasis on membrane trafficking, DNA regulation, modification and repair, and nutrient metabolism. Protein families that significantly increased by the enrichment of LWBs were involved with amino acid metabolism, 2,4-dienoyl-CoA reductase, metal ion binding, glutamate synthase, REDOX homeostasis, and aryl transferases. In contrast, protein families involved with integrase/recombinase, reverse transcriptase, and transposon/transposase were at a lower abundance. 

Conclusions: The results from this study reflect the potential impact that LWBs have on the functional repertoire of bacterial communities in the proximal colon. The results demonstrate a higher potential for the metabolism of amino acids and a lower potential for horizontal integration of plasmids and lower phage/transposon activity in the LWB diet, suggesting that the genome at the time of sampling was more stable. This study helps unravel diverse mechanisms of microbial adaptation to LWBs in the diet of mammals and can provide guidance in optimizing functional diets.

				
			
			

						
																																																																				
						
		


		

						
										
					
						Downloads
					

						
								
	
													


		
	[Abstract]

	
							
	
								
	
													


		
	[Full Article]

	
							


				

						
						
				
					
						Published
					

					
																			2012-06-18
																	

				
							

			
						
										

											
							
								Issue
							

							
								
									Vol. 2 No. 6 (2012): June 2012
								
							

						
					
											
							
								Section
							

							
								Research Articles
							

						
					
									

			
						
										
					
						License
					

										Authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the Functional Food Center (FFC) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. Authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged.

By submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. The Functional Food Center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained.

				

			
			

		

	




	




	


							



	

	

					
				About the Journal      Editing Services      Graphical Abstract      Journal Insights        Submissions        Editorial Team       Privacy Statement        Contact        Current        Archives

 

			

		
		Open Journal Systems Hosting and Support by: OpenJournalSystems.com


	










