Heat exposure remodels the gut microbiota to promote heat acclimation through a serotonin-mediated gut–brain axis
4 affiliations
- 1Research Centre for Livestock Environmental Control and Smart Production, College of Animal Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
- 2College of Animal Science and Technology, Key Laboratory of Efficient Utilization of Non-Grain Feed Resources (Co-Construction by Ministry and Province), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Shandong Agricultural University, Taian 271018, China
- 3Laboratory of Veterinary Physiology, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Agriculture, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Tokyo 183-8509, Japan
- 4Corresponding author.; Research Centre for Livestock Environmental Control and Smart Production, College of Animal Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
Abstract
Rising global temperatures pose an increasing challenge to the survival of endotherms. In this context, heat acclimation is a critical adaptive process that enables long-term survival under warming conditions. However, the mechanisms underlying this adaptive process remain poorly understood in birds, especially heat-sensitive domestic poultry. Here, we investigated how heat acclimation enhances adaptation to high-temperature environments in broiler chickens and examined the role of the gut microbiota in this process. Heat acclimation gradually induced a hypometabolic phenotype in broilers, characterized by reduced thermogenesis and accompanied by remodeling of the gut microbiota. Transplantation of fecal microbiota from heat-adapted donors into recipient broilers remodeled their microbial communities and was associated with reprogramming of tryptophan metabolism, increased hypothalamic serotonin (5-HT) availability, and suppression of endogenous thermogenesis, thereby improving heat tolerance. Notably, both in vitro and in vivo data further showed that 5-HT is associated with upregulation of neuronal transient receptor potential canonical 4 (TRPC4). Intraventricular administration of 5-HT reduced body temperature and thermogenic activity under heat stress, whereas these hypothermic effects were abolished following TRPC4 knockdown. Collectively, our findings demonstrate that heat acclimation promotes metabolic adaptation to warming in birds by remodeling the gut microbiota and regulating the gut-brain axis, providing new insight into microbiota-mediated environmental adaptation in homeotherms.
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BibTeX
@article{li2026heat,
title = {{Heat exposure remodels the gut microbiota to promote heat acclimation through a serotonin-mediated gut–brain axis}},
author = {Sheng Li and Xiaoqing Li and Yuyan Wang and Kelin Li and Dan Shen and Lu Luo and Xiaoming Jin and Yansen Li and Kentaro Nagaoka and Chunmei Li},
journal = {Environment International},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1016/j.envint.2026.110519},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2026.110519},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Heat exposure remodels the gut microbiota to promote heat acclimation through a serotonin-mediated gut–brain axis
AU - Sheng Li
AU - Xiaoqing Li
AU - Yuyan Wang
AU - Kelin Li
AU - Dan Shen
AU - Lu Luo
AU - Xiaoming Jin
AU - Yansen Li
AU - Kentaro Nagaoka
AU - Chunmei Li
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/24
JO - Environment International
DO - 10.1016/j.envint.2026.110519
UR - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2026.110519
AB - Rising global temperatures pose an increasing challenge to the survival of endotherms. In this context, heat acclimation is a critical adaptive process that enables long-term survival under warming conditions. However, the mechanisms underlying this adaptive process remain poorly understood in birds, especially heat-sensitive domestic poultry. Here, we investigated how heat acclimation enhances adaptation to high-temperature environments in broiler chickens and examined the role of the gut microbiota in this process. Heat acclimation gradually induced a hypometabolic phenotype in broilers, characterized by reduced thermogenesis and accompanied by remodeling of the gut microbiota. Transplantation of fecal microbiota from heat-adapted donors into recipient broilers remodeled their microbial communities and was associated with reprogramming of tryptophan metabolism, increased hypothalamic serotonin (5-HT) availability, and suppression of endogenous thermogenesis, thereby improving heat tolerance. Notably, both in vitro and in vivo data further showed that 5-HT is associated with upregulation of neuronal transient receptor potential canonical 4 (TRPC4). Intraventricular administration of 5-HT reduced body temperature and thermogenic activity under heat stress, whereas these hypothermic effects were abolished following TRPC4 knockdown. Collectively, our findings demonstrate that heat acclimation promotes metabolic adaptation to warming in birds by remodeling the gut microbiota and regulating the gut-brain axis, providing new insight into microbiota-mediated environmental adaptation in homeotherms.
SN - 0160-4120
ER -