Journal
CELL REPORTS
Volume 21, Issue 2, Pages 417-430Publisher
CELL PRESS
DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2017.09.049
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Funding
- Canadian Institutes for Health Research [MOP-137134, MOP-142472]
- Canadian Foundation for Innovation [30663]
- British Columbia Knowledge Development Fund
- U.S. NIH [GM124136]
- Royal Society
- BBSRC [BB/I014802/1] Funding Source: UKRI
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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 beta(1,3)/beta(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 serve as genetic markers for MLG catabolism across commensal gut bacteria. In turn, we surveyed human gut metagenomes to reveal that MLGULs are ubiquitous in human populations globally, which underscores the importance of gut microbial metabolism of MLG as a common cereal polysaccharide.
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