Prolonged transition time between colostrum and mature milk in a bear, the giant panda, Ailuropoda melanoleuca.

ABSTRACT: Bears produce the most altricial neonates of any placental mammal. We hypothesized that the transition from colostrum to mature milk in bears reflects a temporal and biochemical adaptation for altricial development and immune protection. Comparison of bear milks with milks of other eutherians yielded distinctive protein profiles. Proteomic and metabolomic analysis of serial milk samples collected from six giant pandas showed a prolonged transition from colostrum to main-phase lactation over approximately 30 days. Particularly striking are the persistence or sequential appearance of adaptive and innate immune factors. The endurance of immunoglobulin G suggests an unusual duration of trans-intestinal absorption of maternal antibodies, and is potentially relevant to the underdeveloped lymphoi

SUBMITTER: Griffiths K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4632522 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature