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Title: Complex pectin metabolism by gut bacteria reveals novel catalytic functions

Journal Article · · Nature (London)
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/nature21725· OSTI ID:1473846
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  1. Newcastle Univ., Newcastle upon Tyne (United Kingdom). Inst. for Cell and Molecular Biosciences
  2. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Marseille (France). Architecture et Fonction des Macromolécules Biologiques; Aix-Marseille Univ., Marseille (France)
  3. INRA, Nantes (France). Biopolymères Interactions Assemblages
  4. John Innes Centre Norwich Research Park, Norwich (United Kingdom). Dept. of Biological Chemistry
  5. Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States). Medical School, Dept. of Microbiology and Immunology
  6. Univ. of Georgia, Athens, GA (United States). Complex Carbohydrate Research Center
  7. Univ. of York (United Kingdom). Dept. of Chemistry
  8. Lethbridge Research Centre, Lethbridge, AB (Canada)
  9. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Marseille (France). Architecture et Fonction des Macromolécules Biologiques; Aix-Marseille Univ., Marseille (France); INRA, Marseille (France); King Abdulaziz Univ., Jeddah (Saudi Arabia). Dept. of Biological Sciences

The metabolism of carbohydrate polymers drives microbial diversity in the human gut microbiota. It is unclear, however, whether bacterial consortia or single organisms are required to depolymerize highly complex glycans. Here in this paper we show that the gut bacterium Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron uses the most structurally complex glycan known: the plant pectic polysaccharide rhamnogalacturonan-II, cleaving all but 1 of its 21 distinct glycosidic linkages. The deconstruction of rhamnogalacturonan-II side chains and backbone are coordinated to overcome steric constraints, and the degradation involves previously undiscovered enzyme families and catalytic activities. The degradation system informs revision of the current structural model of rhamnogalacturonan-II and highlights how individual gut bacteria orchestrate manifold enzymes to metabolize the most challenging glycan in the human diet.

Research Organization:
Univ. of Georgia, Athens, GA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
Grant/Contract Number:
FG02-12ER16324; SC0008472
OSTI ID:
1473846
Journal Information:
Nature (London), Vol. 544, Issue 7648; ISSN 0028-0836
Publisher:
Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 360 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Employment of fucosidases for the synthesis of fucosylated oligosaccharides with biological potential
  • Guzmán‐Rodríguez, Francisco; Alatorre‐Santamaría, Sergio; Gómez‐Ruiz, Lorena
  • Biotechnology and Applied Biochemistry, Vol. 66, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1002/bab.1714
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Bringing plant cell wall-degrading enzymes into the lignocellulosic biorefinery concept: Bringing lignocellulolytic enzymes into the biorefinery concept journal November 2017
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Cloning, purification and biochemical characterisation of a GH35 beta-1,3/beta-1,6-galactosidase from the mucin-degrading gut bacterium Akkermansia muciniphila journal May 2018
Handling gene and protein names in the age of bioinformatics: the special challenge of secreted multimodular bacterial enzymes such as the cbhA/cbh9A gene of Clostridium thermocellum journal February 2018
Cultivation and sequencing of rumen microbiome members from the Hungate1000 Collection journal March 2018
Metagenomics reveals functional synergy and novel polysaccharide utilization loci in the Castor canadensis fecal microbiome journal July 2018
Adaptive mechanisms that provide competitive advantages to marine bacteroidetes during microalgal blooms journal July 2018
Single cell fluorescence imaging of glycan uptake by intestinal bacteria journal April 2019
Bacteroidetes use thousands of enzyme combinations to break down glycans journal May 2019
Inverting family GH156 sialidases define an unusual catalytic motif for glycosidase action journal October 2019
Metabolism of multiple glycosaminoglycans by Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron is orchestrated by a versatile core genetic locus journal January 2020
Pectin RG-I rhamnosyltransferases represent a novel plant-specific glycosyltransferase family journal August 2018
Comparison of Japanese and Indian intestinal microbiota shows diet-dependent interaction between bacteria and fungi journal December 2019
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Structural and functional analyses of glycoside hydrolase 138 enzymes targeting chain A galacturonic acid in the complex pectin rhamnogalacturonan II journal March 2019
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Dietary Fibers from Fruits and Vegetables and Their Health Benefits via Modulation of Gut Microbiota journal July 2019
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