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Contract number
075-15-2022-1134
Time span of the project
2022-2024
General information
Name of the project:

The evolution of functioning of the digestive system of ectothermic vertebrates as an adaptation mechanism in a high-contrast habitat.

Goals and objectives
Goals of project:

  1. Determining the key features of the functioning of the digestive system in sympatrically living related and unrelated forms and species of various groups of ectothermic vertebrates;
  2. Determining the impact of seasonal fluctuations of abiotic factors of the environment on the functioning of the digestive system in various groups of ectothermal vertebrates;
  3. Assessing the impact parasitic invasions on the functioning of the digestive systems of exothermic vertebrates and as a factor of the differentiation of sympatric forms and species in fish;
  4. Determining the main stages of the formation of the digestive systems of model   representatives of related sympatric forms and species of exothermic vertebrates in ontogenesis;
  5. Proposing methods for the optimization of biotechnologies for the development of Russian fisheries and aquaculture accounting for the found objective trends.
Project objective: 

  1. Determining the degree of trophic segregation in the postembryonic development of the studied groups of freshwater fish in comparison with amphibians and reptiles differentiated into analogous ecological forms and species;
  2. Determining the key indicators of similarity and difference as well as the limits of their variation in terms of the work of the digestive systems and the enteric microbiota in adult individuals of related and unrelated sympatric forms and species of fish, amphibians and reptiles in natural habitats;   
  3. Determining in natural and experimental conditions the ontogenetic trends and conducting a comparative analysis of the formation of the digestive system and enteral microbiota in the postembryonic development of ecological forms and species of fish as well as amphibians and reptiles;
  4. Comparing the parasitic load and determining the main types of parasites of the digestive system at various stages of ontogenesis on the example of sympatrically living related and unrelated forms and species of ectothermic vertebrates;
  5. Determining the laws of the formation of adaptive characteristics of the digestive system that allow to ensure the efficient digestion of food in the context of parasitic hyperinvasions using the example of related and unrelated sympatric forms and species of fish;
  6. Determining the connection between parasitic invasions and food gathering activity, the biochemical composition of food and the food preferences of masters as possible factors of evolutionary specialization in exothermic vertebrates;
  7. Conducting a comparison of the parasitic load and the physiological features of digestion in closely related parthenogenetic and hermaphroditic species of fish and reptiles to check the hypothesis on the decrease in the parasitic load in hermaphroditic species due to high recombination variability;
  8. Determining the role of seasonal temperature fluctuations as one of the key factors in seasonal adaptations in the functioning of the digestive system and the structure of microbial communities in the studied groups of marine and land exothermic vertebrates;
  9. In vitro modeling of the processes of digestion with various values of factors (temperature, рН, concentration of ions and other) using the obtained results. The modeling will allow to evaluate the contribution of each of these factors to the success of the hydrolysis of key food substrates (proteins, lipids and carbohydrates) in the digestive tracts of the researched groups of exothermic vertebrates;
  10. Assessing the relation between species-specific features of digestion, the intestinal microbiome and their interaction with the general state of exothermic vertebrates and their seasonal behavior (the reproduction period, fattening and hibernation) by analyzing the intestine-brain interactions using advanced omic approaches;
  11. Using the attained results and an assessment of the significance of the researched factors to propose corrections to the biotechnology of artificial breeding of juvenile fish of the researched valuable species.
Research directions: Biologiy
The practical value of the study
Planned project results:

  1. We will determine the degree of trophic segregation in the postembryonic development of the studied groups of ectothermal vertebrates (fish, amphibians, reptiles), differentiated into related forms and species;
  2. We will determine the key indicators of similarity and difference in the work of the digestive systems as well as the enteric microbiota in adult individuals of related and unrelated sympatric forms and species of fish, amphibians and reptiles in natural habitats;
  3. Our researchers will determine the ontogenetic trends and conduct a comparative analysis of the formation of the digestive system and enteral microbiota in the postembryonic development of ecological forms and species of fish as well as amphibians and reptiles in natural and experimental conditions;   
  4. We will compare the levels of parasitic load and determine the main types of parasites of the digestive system at various stages of ontogenesis on the example of sympatrically living related and unrelated forms and species of ectothermic vertebrates and identify    the main types of parasites in the digestive systems of sympatrically living related and unrelated forms and species of exothermic vertebrates at various stages of their ontogenesis;
  5. Using the example of related and unrelated sympatric forms and species of fish, we will determine the key laws of the formation of adaptation characteristics of the digestive system ensuring the efficiency of the processes of digestion in the presence of parasitic hyperinvasions;
  6. Our researchers will assess the connection between parasitic invasions and food gathering activity, the biochemical composition of food and the food preferences of masters as possible factors of evolutionary specialization in exothermic vertebrates;
  7. The Laboratory will conduct a comparison of the parasitic load and the physiological features of digestion in closely related parthenogenetic and hermaphroditic species of fish and reptiles to check the hypothesis on the decrease in the parasitic load in hermaphroditic species due to high recombination variability;
  8. We will determine the role of seasonal temperature fluctuations as one of the key factors in seasonal adaptations in the functioning of the digestive system and the structure of microbial communities in the studied groups of marine and land exothermic vertebrates;     
  9. Using the attained results, we will conduct in vitro modeling of the processes of digestion with various values of factors (temperature, рН, concentration of ions and other) to evaluate the contribution of each of these factors to the success of the hydrolysis of key food substrates (proteins, lipids and carbohydrates) in the digestive tracts of the researched groups of exothermic vertebrates;
  10. Our researchers will establish the relation between species-specific features of digestion, the intestinal microbiome and their interaction with the general state of exothermic vertebrates and their behavior (the reproduction period, fattening and hibernation) by analyzing the intestine-brain interactions using advanced omic approaches (assessing transcriptomes and proteomes);
  11. Relying on the attained results and the assessment of the significance of the researched factors, we will propose corrections to the biotechnology of artificial breeding of juvenile fish of the researched valuable species.


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