Diet-microbiome-immune interactions regulate sleep in larval zebrafish

• Main Author: Phang, Sean Kia Ann
• Other Authors: -
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2024
• Subjects: Medicine, Health and Life Sciences; Microbiome; Inflammation; Sleep; Zebrafish
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/175406
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Gastrointestinal tract inflammation and disease have been linked to sleep disturbances, yet the precise gut-brain mechanisms are not known. The gut microbiome is suggested to mediate such aberrant gut immune-brain signaling via diet-induced dysbiosis or production of microbial metabolites. Using the larval zebrafish model, we show that a high fat diet triggers gut inflammation and affects behaviour in a microbiome-dependent manner. 16s rRNA metagenomic sequencing revealed the increase in the abundance of certain microbial species. Whole-brain activity mapping revealed differential neural activity in association with behavioural perturbations. However, no neuroinflammation was observed. This study reveals the role of microbial metabolism in gut inflammation and behaviour, and future research should investigate its mechanistic links with neurotransmitter circuit functions.