biostudies-literatureEerden SANovo Nordisk FoundationHorizon EuropeH2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie ActionsNetherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research100350https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC12925313biostudies-literatureUnknown11Although biofilms are widespread in nature, the ecological roles and compositional diversity of the extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) forming these structures remain poorly understood. Here, we apply a bottom-up genomic approach by investigating the biosynthetic potential for glycan precursors in the genus "<i>Candidatus</i> Accumulibacter", with a focus on assessing the intra-genus variability. Within a curated set of 61 "<i>Ca.</i> Accumulibacter" MAGs, our analysis revealed a dichotomy in glycan precursors between a conserved core group of 9 nucleotide-sugars and a variable accessory set of 12 nucleotide-sugars, out of 50 nucleotide-sugars tested. The core nucleotide-sugars in "<i>Ca</i>. Accumulibacter" are related to nucleotide-sugars also found to be widely distributed across BiofilmPhylogenetic analysis reveals diversity in glycan biosynthesis in "&lt;i&gt;Candidatus&lt;/i&gt; Accumulibacter".PMC12925313NNF 22OC0071498101068900Abeel TEerden SAvan Loosdrecht MCMRoy SfalsePhylogenetic analysis reveals diversity in glycan biosynthesis in "&lt;i&gt;Candidatus&lt;/i&gt; Accumulibacter".Although biofilms are widespread in nature, the ecological roles and compositional diversity of the extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) forming these structures remain poorly understood. Here, we apply a bottom-up genomic approach by investigating the biosynthetic potential for glycan precursors in the genus "<i>Candidatus</i> Accumulibacter", with a focus on assessing the intra-genus variability. Within a curated set of 61 "<i>Ca.</i> Accumulibacter" MAGs, our analysis revealed a dichotomy in glycan precursors between a conserved core group of 9 nucleotide-sugars and a variable accessory set of 12 nucleotide-sugars, out of 50 nucleotide-sugars tested. The core nucleotide-sugars in "<i>Ca</i>. Accumulibacter" are related to nucleotide-sugars also found to be widely distributed across 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z2026 Jun2026-07-12T03:16:16.135Z2026-07-12T03:08:01.613ZS-EPMC129253134173217410.1016/j.bioflm.2026.100350