Journal article
Differential bacterial capture and transport preferences facilitate co-growth on dietary xylan in the human gut
Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Technical University of Denmark1
National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark2
Protein Glycoscience and Biotechnology, Section for Protein Chemistry and Enzyme Technology, Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Technical University of Denmark3
Technical University of Denmark4
Regulatory Genomics, Section for Synthetic Biology, Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Technical University of Denmark5
Research Group for Gut Microbiology and Immunology, National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark6
Copenhagen Center for Health Technology, Centers, Technical University of Denmark7
Norwegian University of Science and Technology8
Norwegian University of Life Sciences9
Metabolism of dietary glycans is pivotal in shaping the human gut microbiota. However, the mechanisms that promote competition for glycans among gut commensals remain unclear. Roseburia intestinalis, an abundant butyrate-producing Firmicute, is a key degrader of the major dietary fibre xylan. Despite the association of this taxon to a healthy microbiota, insight is lacking into its glycan utilization machinery.
Here, we investigate the apparatus that confers R. intestinalis growth on different xylans. R. intestinalis displays a large cell-attached modular xylanase that promotes multivalent and dynamic association to xylan via four xylan-binding modules. This xylanase operates in concert with an ATP-binding cassette transporter to mediate breakdown and selective internalization of xylan fragments.
The transport protein of R. intestinalis prefers oligomers of 4-5 xylosyl units, whereas the counterpart from a model xylan-degrading Bacteroides commensal targets larger ligands. Although R. intestinalis and the Bacteroides competitor co-grew in a mixed culture on xylan, R. intestinalis dominated on the preferred transport substrate xylotetraose.
These findings highlight the differentiation of capture and transport preferences as a possible strategy to facilitate co-growth on abundant dietary fibres and may offer a unique route to manipulate the microbiota based on glycan transport preferences in therapeutic interventions to boost distinct taxa.
Language: | English |
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Publisher: | Nature Publishing Group UK |
Year: | 2018 |
Pages: | 570-580 |
ISSN: | 20585276 |
Types: | Journal article |
DOI: | 10.1038/s41564-018-0132-8 |
ORCIDs: | 0000-0003-2099-3591 , Bahl, Martin Iain , Licht, Tine Rask , 0000-0003-1613-4663 , Abou Hachem, Maher , Leth, Maria Louise , Workman, Christopher and Sternberg, Claus |