Molecular Mechanism by which Prominent Human Gut Bacteroidetes Utilize Mixed-Linkage Beta-Glucans, Major Health-Promoting Cereal Polysaccharides.

ABSTRACT: Microbial utilization of complex polysaccharides is a major driving force in shaping the composition of the human gut microbiota. There is a growing appreciation that finely tuned polysaccharide utilization loci enable ubiquitous gut Bacteroidetes to thrive on the plethora of complex polysaccharides that constitute "dietary fiber." Mixed-linkage β(1,3)/β(1,4)-glucans (MLGs) are a key family of plant cell wall polysaccharides with recognized health benefits but whose mechanism of utilization has remained unclear. Here, we provide molecular insight into the function of an archetypal MLG utilization locus (MLGUL) through a combination of biochemistry, enzymology, structural biology, and microbiology. Comparative genomics coupled with growth studies demonstrated further that syntenic MLGULs se

SUBMITTER: Tamura K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5656003 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature