Elucidation of a sialic acid metabolism pathway in mucus-foraging Ruminococcus gnavus unravels mechanisms of bacterial adaptation to the gut.

ABSTRACT: Sialic acid (N-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Ac)) is commonly found in the terminal location of colonic mucin glycans where it is a much-coveted nutrient for gut bacteria, including Ruminococcus gnavus. R. gnavus is part of the healthy gut microbiota in humans, but it is disproportionately represented in diseases. There is therefore a need to understand the molecular mechanisms that underpin the adaptation of R. gnavus to the gut. Previous in vitro research has demonstrated that the mucin-glycan-foraging strategy of R. gnavus is strain dependent and is associated with the expression of an intramolecular trans-sialidase, which releases 2,7-anhydro-Neu5Ac, rather than Neu5Ac, from mucins. Here, we unravelled the metabolism pathway of 2,7-anhydro-Neu5Ac in R. gnavus that is underpinned by the ex

SUBMITTER: Bell A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6881182 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature