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Lipidic metabolites play essential roles in host physiological health and growth performance, serving as the major structural and signaling components of membranes, energy storage molecules, and steroid hormones. Bamboo, as wild giant pandas' exclusive diet, is the main determinant of giant pandas' lipidome, both as a direct source and through microbiota activity. Interestingly, the consumption of bamboo has attracted little attention from a lipidomic perspective. In the current study, we outline the lipidomic atlas of different parts of bamboo. By gas chromatography—mass spectrometry (GC-MS), we have been able to obtain the absolute quantification of 35 fatty acids pertaining to short chain fatty acids (8), medium chain fatty acids (6), long chain fatty acids (17), and very long chain fatty acids (4), while liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC-HRMS/MS) allowed us to obtain the relative quantification of another 1638 lipids. Among the fatty acids quantified in absolute terms, eight showed significantly distinct concentrations among different bamboo parts. Subsequently, we investigated how the giant panda's serum and fecal lipidome adapt to the most important annual change in their diet, represented by the consumption of high amounts of bamboo shoots, typical of spring, the weight-gaining season. Five fatty acids were significantly altered in feces and two in serum, respectively, due to the different levels of bamboo shoot consumption. Furthermore, significant differences of the main bacteria strains were observed in feces between the two groups at the genus level, pertaining to Streptococcus, Leuconostoc, and Vagococcus. Correlations between giant panda fecal microbiome and lipidome were evaluated by Pearson correlation analysis. These findings suggest that a balanced diet, important for the overall lipidomic function and giant panda health, could be reached even in this remarkable case of a single food-based diet, by administering to the giant panda's combinations of different parts of bamboo, with specific lipidome profiles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the impacts of global warming on keystone species is fundamental to addressing the threat of climate change to biodiversity. Understory bamboo species play a crucial role in many forest ecosystems and provide food and shelter for numerous animals, including the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca). While previous studies projected that global warming would cause substantial shrinkage of bamboo distribution and threaten giant pandas, substantial uncertainties persist due to an incomplete understanding of the impacts of warmer temperatures on both the quantity and quality of bamboo as the food source for giant pandas. To address this research gap, we conducted the first field experiment in giant panda habitats to assess the impacts of warmer temperatures on the population dynamics and dietary quality of arrow bamboo, a main food source of giant pandas. We observed that warming generated a nonlinear impact on bamboo survival, with a potential warming threshold between 1.5 °C and 3 °C, beyond which warmer temperatures substantially reduced the survival rate of bamboo. Additionally, our plant content analysis showed that warmer temperatures lowered bamboo's nutritional value but enhanced its palatability as food for giant pandas. Furthermore, we found that warming could jeopardize the bamboo food supply for giant pandas by intensifying aphid infections in bamboo. These findings advanced the understanding of food web dynamics under global warming and provided crucial information for effective giant panda conservation planning in the face of climate change. • Warming generated a nonlinear impact on the survival of arrow bamboo. • Warming lowered bamboo's nutritional value but enhanced its palatability to pandas. • Warming jeopardized pandas' food supply by intensifying aphid infections in bamboo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]