Journal
NATURE
Volume 517, Issue 7533, Pages 165-U86Publisher
NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP
DOI: 10.1038/nature13995
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Funding
- European Research Council [322820]
- Wellcome Trust [WT097907AIA]
- BBSRC [BB/G016127/1]
- US Department of Energy (DOE) Bioenergy Research Center (BESC) - Office of Biological and Environmental Research in the DOE Office of Science
- National Institutes of Health [GM090080]
- University of Michigan Medical School Host Microbiome Initiative
- Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
- AgriFlex [2510]
- Canadian Institute of Health Research operating grant [MOP-68913]
- Australian Research Council
- Mizutani Foundation
- Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council [BB/G016127/1] Funding Source: researchfish
- BBSRC [BB/G016127/1] Funding Source: UKRI
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Yeasts, which have been a component of the human diet for at least 7,000 years, possess an elaborate cell wall alpha-mannan. The influence of yeast mannan on the ecology of the human microbiota is unknown. Here we show that yeast alpha-mannan is a viable food source for the Gram-negative bacterium Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron, a dominant member of the microbiota. Detailed biochemical analysis and targeted gene disruption studies support a model whereby limited cleavage of alpha-mannan on the surface generates large oligosaccharides that are subsequently depolymerized to mannose by the action of periplasmic enzymes. Co-culturing studies showed that metabolism of yeast mannan by B. thetaiotaomicron presents a 'selfish' model for the catabolism of this difficult to breakdown polysaccharide. Genomic comparison with B. thetaiotaomicron in conjunction with cell culture studies show that a cohort of highly successful members of the microbiota has evolved to consume sterically-restricted yeast glycans, an adaptation that may reflect the incorporation of eukaryotic microorganisms into the human diet.
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