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# Flexibility of the gut during the neonatal period: does it have consequences later in life?

Gaëlle Boudry

► To cite this version:

Gaëlle Boudry. Flexibility of the gut during the neonatal period: does it have consequences later in life?. International union of physiological societies, Jul 2013, Birmingham, United Kingdom. 2013, Abstract book. hal-01594347

HAL Id: hal-01594347

https://hal.science/hal-01594347

Submitted on 3 Jun 2020

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SA306

Behavioural ecology of the gut

T. Piersma, A. Dekinga, A. Bijleveld, T. Oudman and J.A. van Gils

Marine Ecology, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Den Burg, Netherlands

We look at the gut as the biggest interface between an organ-
ism and its environment. Guts are responsive to many exter-
nal conditions (food availability, pathogen pressure and nutri-
tional demands), whilst at the same time serving internally
orchestrated seasonal fitness functions. In our work on the
ecology and evolution of shorebirds, i.e. seasonal migrants
that travel the length and with of the globe but with distinct
habitat preferences, we have taken the gut as a consequential
and fully integrated part of the organism-environment inter-
action. We will review how different parts of the gut respond
to changes in food quality and demand, even representing
strategic design solutions to challenges and habitats encoun-
tered next. Our prime example are molluscivore specialists
(especially red knots, Calidris canutus) that in some conditions
trade a hard-shell-processing against a food-toxin constraint.
A novel level of organismal integration is suggested by the find-
ing that personality differences between individuals corre-
late with gut size in seemingly adaptive ways.

Piersma, T. & van Gils, J.A. (2011). The flexible phenotype. A body-cen-
tred integration of ecology, physiology, and behaviour. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.

*Where applicable, the authors confirm that the experiments described here conform with The Physiological Society ethical requirements.*

SA307

Flexibility of the gut during the neonatal period: does it
have consequences later in life?

G. Boudry

INRA UR 1341 ADNC, St-Gilles, France

Early life nutrition impacts durably several physiological and
metabolic functions and is a risk factor for the development
of metabolic disease in adults (obesity, type 2 diabetes, hyper-
tension, ...). This theory of nutritional imprinting or Develop-
mental Origin of Health and Disease established by Barker in
the late 80's (1) has been reinforced by experimental data on
organs and tissues directly involved in the pathophysiology
of the metabolic syndrome (liver, adipose tissue, pancreas...)
(2). The gut has got little attention in this context so far. Yet,
evidences for a role of the gut in the pathophysiology of meta-
bolic diseases in adults, especially with gut microbiota and bar-
rier function maladaptation to a high fat diet, have emerged
(3-4). The structure of the gut microbiota is established and
the mucosal immune system programed in early life. This post-
natal development is not hard-wired and is influenced by envi-
ronmental and nutritional factors. Man can hypothesize that
this flexibility in acquisition of the microbiota and education
of the gut immune system in early life would be long-lasting
and induce distinct response to a high fat diet later in life. There
are already several evidences that early life environmental fac-
tors including stress such as maternal deprivation or chemi-
cal contaminants such as bisphenol A dramatically impact adult
response to gut inflammation or visceral painful stimuli in mod-

els of inflammatory bowel disease and irritable bowel syn-
drome. Recently, evidences have also emerged that nutritional
factors, including energy, fat and fatty acids, protein, and
micronutrients imbalances during early life have remnant
effects of gut function in adults with alterations in microbiota,
intestinal barrier function and/or defense systems. Examples
of such long-term effects on the gut will be provided, focus-
ing on piglet model and adaptation to a high fat diet. Those
emerging data challenges neonatal nutrition which, apart from
its traditional role as a supplier of building blocks for growth,
may play another, yet potentially crucial role in shaping the
individual's future life, impinging on the risk of disease decades
later on.

Barker et al. (1989) Lancet, 2:577-80

Hales et al. (1991) BMJ, 303:1019-22

Cani & Delzenne (2009) Curr. Pharm. Des. 15:1546-1558

Turnbaugh et al. (2006) Nature, 444:1027-31

*Where applicable, the authors confirm that the experiments described here conform with The Physiological Society ethical requirements.*

SA308

Diverse feeding regimes and gut flexibility in ectotherms

S. Secor

Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alabama,
Tuscaloosa, AL, USA

Animals exhibit a wide diversity of feeding habits, within which
exists a broad continuum of feeding frequencies and feeding
patterns. At one end of the continuum are small endotherms
that seemingly are continuously digesting to maintain their
high metabolic rates, whereas at the opposite end of the spec-
trum are large ectotherms that as a function of their foraging
habits and low energy demands, feed relatively infrequently.
In addition, many animals experience each year an extended
period of fasting due to the lack of food, harsh conditions, or
the conflicting demands of reproduction. Driven by very pre-
dictable long episodes of digestive quiescence and the ele-
vated cost of maintaining an active gut, selection would favor
the down regulation of GI performance during such fasting
periods. Consequently, such an adaptive response would
require the capacity to rapidly upregulate GI function with
feeding. While such examples of phenotypic flexibility are
prevalent across vertebrate taxa, the most striking cases are
observed for ectotherms, especially snakes. Studies with snakes
have identified a remarkable adaptive interplay between feed-
ing habits and the capacity to regulate intestinal form and
function. Species of snakes that feed infrequently in the wild
(e.g., pythons, boas, and rattlesnakes) experience with the
completion of digestion the downregulation of intestinal hydro-
lase and transporter activities and atrophy of the intestinal
epithelium. Feeding triggers the immediate upregulation of
intestinal function and rapid hypertrophy of the epithelium.
In contrast, snakes that feed relatively frequently in the wild
(i.e., many colubrids) experience only modest regulation of
intestinal form and function with feeding and fasting. These
snakes, as is the case for many other vertebrates, maintain an
active gut between meals. Significant modulation of intestinal
structure and function with fasting and feeding have likewise
been observed for fishes and amphibians, the latter best exem-
plified by species that aestivate during dry seasons. The cel-
lular mechanism largely responsible for this dichotomy in intes-
tinal response resides with the extent that the microvilli