Study on the efficient utilization mechanism of dietary starch by swamp eel (Monopterus albus)

Swamp eel (Monopterus albus), a commercially farmed and carnivorous freshwater fish, possess high efficiency on the utilization of dietary starch, but the underlying mechanism remain elusive. Therefore, we aimed to explore how does swamp eel efficiently utilize dietary starch. Firstly, we obtained the transcriptome of the fish by next generation sequencing (NGS) and de novo assbemby. We annotated the unigene of the transcriptome and analyzed differentially expressed genes (DEG) in intestine of fish fed with two levels of starch (20%-NF and 32%-HF) diets. Secondly, we tested the microbial community of the digesta included in intestine of swamp eel fed HF and NF diets through 16S rDNA gene high throughput sequencing analysis. Finally, we calculated the concentrates of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) of the digesta included in intestine of swamp eel fed HF and NF diets by GC/MS analysis. Several important DEG, microbial community and SCFAs were identified to be responsible for the high efficiency on the utilization of dietary starch in swamp eel. File S1: DEG in intestine of swamp eel between treatments; File S2: Microbial community in intestine of swamp eel between treatments; File S3: The concentrates of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in intestine of swamp eel between treatments.黄鳝（Monopterus albus）是一种商业化养殖的肉食性淡水经济鱼类，其对日粮淀粉具有极高利用效率，但背后的潜在调控机制尚不明确。为此，本研究旨在揭示黄鳝高效利用日粮淀粉的内在机制。首先，通过二代测序（next generation sequencing, NGS）技术结合从头组装（de novo assembly）获取黄鳝转录组数据，对转录组单基因（unigene）进行功能注释，并分析投喂两种淀粉水平日粮（20%-NF与32%-HF）的黄鳝肠道差异表达基因（differentially expressed genes, DEG）。其次，采用16S rDNA基因高通量测序技术，分析投喂HF与NF日粮的黄鳝肠道内容物的微生物群落结构。最后，通过气相色谱-质谱联用（GC/MS）技术，定量测定投喂HF与NF日粮的黄鳝肠道内容物中的短链脂肪酸（short-chain fatty acids, SCFAs）浓度。本研究最终筛选出与黄鳝高效利用日粮淀粉相关的关键差异表达基因、微生物群落及短链脂肪酸标志物。补充材料S1：不同处理组黄鳝肠道差异表达基因列表；补充材料S2：不同处理组黄鳝肠道微生物群落数据；补充材料S3：不同处理组黄鳝肠道短链脂肪酸浓度数据。