Viewing the human microbiome through three-dimensional glasses: integrating structural and functional studies to better define the properties of myriad carbohydrate-active enzymes.

ABSTRACT: Recent studies have provided an unprecedented view of the trillions of microbes associated with the human body. The human microbiome harbors tremendous diversity at multiple levels: the species that colonize each individual and each body habitat; the genes that are found in each organism's genome; the expression of these genes and the interactions and activities of their protein products. The sources of this diversity are wide-ranging and reflect both environmental and host factors. A major challenge moving forward is defining the precise functions of members of various families of proteins represented in our microbiomes, including the highly diverse carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes) involved in numerous biologically important chemical transformations, such as the degradation of comple

SUBMITTER: Turnbaugh PJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2954214 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature