Complex pectin metabolism by gut bacteria reveals novel catalytic functions



Ndeh, Didier, Rogowski, Artur, Cartmell, Alan ORCID: 0000-0002-5512-249X, Luis, Ana S, Basle, Arnaud, Gray, Joseph, Venditto, Immacolata, Briggs, Jonathon, Zhang, Xiaoyang, Labourel, Aurore
et al (show 15 more authors) (2017) Complex pectin metabolism by gut bacteria reveals novel catalytic functions. NATURE, 544 (7648). pp. 65-70.

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Abstract

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 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.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: Gastrointestinal Tract, Humans, Borates, Pectins, Glycoside Hydrolases, Catalytic Domain, Substrate Specificity, Models, Molecular, Biocatalysis, Gastrointestinal Microbiome, Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron
Depositing User: Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited: 10 Sep 2019 15:45
Last Modified: 19 Jan 2023 00:27
DOI: 10.1038/nature21725
Open Access URL: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC53881...
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URI: https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3054145