Bilirubin reductase shows host-specific associations in animal large intestines.

ABSTRACT: Animal gastrointestinal tracts contain diverse metabolites, including various host-derived compounds that gut-associated microbes interact with. Here, we explore the diversity and evolution of bilirubin reductase, a bacterial enzyme that metabolizes the host-derived tetrapyrrole bilirubin, performing a key role in the animal heme degradation pathway. Through an analysis of the bilirubin reductase phylogeny and predicted structures, we found that the enzyme family can be divided into three distinct clades with different structural features. Using these clade definitions, we analyzed metagenomic sequencing data from multiple animal species, finding that bilirubin reductase is significantly enriched in the large intestines of animals and that the clades exhibit differences in distribution amo

SUBMITTER: Dufault-Thompson K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11669818 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature