Background-Resistant starch is a prebiotic metabolized by the gut bacteria. It has been shown to attenuate

In this paper we discuss two universal characteristics of domesticated species that distinguish them from the wild closely related ancestors – increased socialization and phenotypic variability. Examining evidence accumulated in the literature up to date, we note that the gut microbiome is involved in the increased social behavior of domesticated species through the gut-immune system-brain axis. We further discuss data that point toward clear difference in the microbiome composition between domesticated species and closely related wild ancestors. This difference is related to changes in diet, due to co-habitation with humans, which leads to increase in Bifidobacteria and changes in carbohydrate metabolism. We note that these changes may also influence interaction between microbiome and virome. Virome is linked to the evolutionary changes through incorporation of retro-viruses into the host genome. Together with transposons these mobile genetic elements may also lead to changes in regulatory networks, and increase adaptive potential. Changes in microbiome of animals during co-habitation with humans should be considered as an important event during domestication process.

Bovine Leukemia Virus (BLV) is an established model for studying retroviral infections, in particular the infection by the human T-cell leukemia type 1 (HTLV-1) virus. Here, we quantified gene expression of several BLV-related genes: effector protein of T and NK-killer cells NK-lysin (Nklys), reverse BLV transcriptase pol, BLV receptor (blvr), and also key enzymes of the microRNA maturation, Dicer (dc1) and Argonaut (ago2). The differences in the expression of the above genes were compared between five groups: (1) BLV infected cows with high and (2) low lymphocyte count, (3) with and (4) without BLV microRNA expressions, and (5) cows without BLV infections (control group). As compared to control, infected cows with high lymphocyte count and BLV microRNA expression had significantly decreased Nklys gene expression and increased dc1 and ago2 gene expressions. Few infected animals without pol gene expression nevertheless transcribed BLV microRNA, while others with pol gene expression didn't transcribe BLV microRNA. Notably, Pol expression significantly (P < 0.05) correlated with dc1 expression. For infected animals, there were no direct correlations between the number of leukocytes and pol, Nklys, and BLV microRNA gene expressions. Blvr gene expression is typical for juvenile lymphocytes and decreases during terminal differentiation. Our data suggest that BLV infects primarily juvenile lymphocytes, which further divide into two groups. One group expresses BLV DNA and another one expressed BLV microRNA that decreases host immune response against cells, expressing BLV proteins. It is suspected that regulatory microRNAs play a significant role in the bovine leukemia infections, yet the precise mechanisms and targets of the microRNAs remain poorly defined. Vaccines that are currently in use have a low response rate. Understanding of microRNA regulatory mechanisms and targets would allow to develop more effective vaccines for retroviral infections.

agricultural Academy named after K.A. Timiryazev,

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) affects approximately 10% (1 of 10) of the worldwide population and is associated with a significantly increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD) due to the acceleration of atherosclerosis. In particular, a high incidence of atherosclerosis occurs in chronic renal failure patients with uremia, but the pathogenesis of the events that contribute to uremic atherosclerosis is poorly understood. Inflammation, vascular stiffness likely resulting from endothelial dysfunction, and accelerated atherosclerosis are considered prominent factors contributing to the high rates of CVD in CKD. Our lab aims to demonstrate structural and functional protection against atherosclerosis by resistant starch diet, will provide a rationale to evaluate its use in CKD patients. At the moment, our preliminary result shows significant increase in the bacteroidetes-to-firmicutes ratio. In addition, we observed an increase in the Ruminoccoccus genus upon RS supplementation. Next, we applied our metaproteomics analysis pipe-line to assess proteome changes between the four groups - healthy, healthy+RS, CKD, and CKD+RS. Our data shows that RS diet stimulates bacterial mass biosynthesis (characterized by highly abundant transcription/translation-related proteins) and increases bacterial proteins that may participate in host urea cycle. An understanding of the link between microbiota and development of atherosclerosis in presence of end stage renal failure is of considerable clinical relevance. Our further plans include implementing deeper statistical analysis to establish strong correlations between those changes and CKD/CVD outcome, as well as identifying a target agent for CVD treatment. In summary, our methodology results in data on both host and bacterial proteins and yields both peptide-level and protein-level information. Our studies provide a foundation for identification of peptide-level, protein-level, and organism-level biomarkers of advanced kidney disease and suggest novel therapeutic targets. There is significant potential for drugging the microbiome with dietary recommendations.