This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Undernourishment or undernutrition can be caused by a lack of food or a high energy demand, such as during pregnancy and lactation. Undernutrition in production animals disrupts metabolic homeostasis and causes serious health problems, including maternal metabolic disorders and stillbirth. Many production animals are ruminants, named for their unique digestive organ, the rumen, which houses a diverse anaerobic microbiome. The ruminal microbiome allows the host to break down hard-to-digest plant carbohydrates and produce protein that the host later absorbs. But little is known about the effects of undernutrition on the host-microbiome interaction in ruminants. A recent study investigated changes in the ruminal microbiome and epithelium in undernourished pregnant sheep. During undernutrition, the bacterial genes involved in the digestion of carbohydrates and protein synthesis were downregulated. This meant less energy and protein was available to the host and critical signaling pathways were inhibited..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Termites are one of the few animal lineages able to digest the most abundant biomolecule on earth, lignocellulose. Of the nine families of termites, all but one of them eat wood, with the last feeding on soil. While termites produce enzymes that break down lignocellulose, their gut microbes are still a critical part of the digestion process. But most termite gut microbiome research to date is based on research from wood-feeding or pest species of termites. So, a recent study examined the prokaryotic gut microbes from a sample of termite species that better represent the diversity of termites. The gut microbes possessed a similar set of carbohydrate and nitrogen metabolism genes across the termite phylogenetic tree. The proportions of these genes varied with the hosts’ diet and position on the phylogenetic tree. Surprisingly, the soil-feeding termites didn't even have unique microbial metabolic genes or pathways compared to wood-feeding species..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.