Dietary fibre responses emerge through host-dietary regime interplay: Apple pectin modulates immune reactivity in adult zebrafish
- 1School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, NR4 7TJ, Norwich, UK
Abstract
Dietary fibres are rarely consumed independently. Instead, they form part of an overall diet that includes dietary fibres from different sources, in varying amounts and consumed under different feeding patterns. Here, we tested how dietary regimes containing apple pectin, oat {beta}-glucan, or cellulose shaped the host. We analysed gut microbiome composition by 16S rRNA sequencing, measured brain and intestinal SCFA profiles by targeted metabolomics, and assessed immunomodulation by measuring gene expression systemically in the blood and locally in the spleen, as well as intestinal enzyme activity. The dietary intervention was conducted for 12 weeks on adult female and male zebrafish (Danio rerio). Our results show that the gut microbial composition can be relatively stable across different dietary fibre exposure patterns yet still vary significantly between the sexes. Additionally, the effect of sex on the gut microbiome may become more evident when dietary fibres are administered at high dosages, but intermittently. Dietary fibre regimes can alter intestinal short-chain fatty acid profiles more readily than brain profiles, which show a stronger sexually dimorphic response. Interestingly, apple pectin modulated the zebrafish immune response through interactions dependent on the overall regime, tissue, sex, and host immune status. Notably, tissue il1b gene expression differed depending on how apple pectin was administered and the host's physiological state. Collectively, our study emphasises the highly context-specific effects of dietary fibres, shaped by the dynamic interplay between the overall dietary regime and intertwined host factors.
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BibTeX
@misc{assaf2026dietary,
title = {{Dietary fibre responses emerge through host-dietary regime interplay: Apple pectin modulates immune reactivity in adult zebrafish}},
author = {J. Abi Assaf and G. Le Gall and R. Sullivan and A. Bezrucico-Pyatakov and H. Carlsson and J. Cohen-Krais and J.-C. de Coriolis and A. M. Godden and D. Marcu and D. Gorton and S. Immler},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.64898/2026.10.29.762775},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.29.762775v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Dietary fibre responses emerge through host-dietary regime interplay: Apple pectin modulates immune reactivity in adult zebrafish
AU - J. Abi Assaf
AU - G. Le Gall
AU - R. Sullivan
AU - A. Bezrucico-Pyatakov
AU - H. Carlsson
AU - J. Cohen-Krais
AU - J.-C. de Coriolis
AU - A. M. Godden
AU - D. Marcu
AU - D. Gorton
AU - S. Immler
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/29
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.10.29.762775
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.29.762775v1
AB - Dietary fibres are rarely consumed independently. Instead, they form part of an overall diet that includes dietary fibres from different sources, in varying amounts and consumed under different feeding patterns. Here, we tested how dietary regimes containing apple pectin, oat {beta}-glucan, or cellulose shaped the host. We analysed gut microbiome composition by 16S rRNA sequencing, measured brain and intestinal SCFA profiles by targeted metabolomics, and assessed immunomodulation by measuring gene expression systemically in the blood and locally in the spleen, as well as intestinal enzyme activity. The dietary intervention was conducted for 12 weeks on adult female and male zebrafish (Danio rerio). Our results show that the gut microbial composition can be relatively stable across different dietary fibre exposure patterns yet still vary significantly between the sexes. Additionally, the effect of sex on the gut microbiome may become more evident when dietary fibres are administered at high dosages, but intermittently. Dietary fibre regimes can alter intestinal short-chain fatty acid profiles more readily than brain profiles, which show a stronger sexually dimorphic response. Interestingly, apple pectin modulated the zebrafish immune response through interactions dependent on the overall regime, tissue, sex, and host immune status. Notably, tissue il1b gene expression differed depending on how apple pectin was administered and the host's physiological state. Collectively, our study emphasises the highly context-specific effects of dietary fibres, shaped by the dynamic interplay between the overall dietary regime and intertwined host factors.
ER -