Molecular mechanism by which prominent human gut Bacteroidetes utilize mixed-linkage beta-glucans, major health-promoting cereal polysaccharides

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 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

Gut microbiota functions: metabolism of nutrients and other food components

The diverse microbial community that inhabits the human gut has an extensive metabolic repertoire that is distinct from, but complements the activity of mammalian enzymes in the liver and gut mucosa and includes functions essential for host digestion. As such, the gut microbiota is a key factor in shaping the biochemical profile of the diet and, therefore, its impact on host health and disease. The important role that the gut microbiota appears to play in human metabolism and health has stimulated research into the identification of specific microorganisms involved in different processes, and the elucidation of metabolic pathways, particularly those associated with metabolism of dietary components and some host-generated substances. In the first part of the review, we discuss the main gut microorganisms, particularly bacteria, and microbial pathways associated with the metabolism of dietary carbohydrates (to short chain fatty acids and gases), proteins, plant polyphenols, bile acids, and vitamins. The second part of the review focuses on the methodologies, existing and novel, that can be employed to explore gut microbial pathways of metabolism. These include mathematical models, omics techniques, isolated microbes, and enzyme assays

Human gut Bacteroidetes can utilize yeast mannan through a selfish mechanism

Yeasts, which have been a component of the human diet for at least 7,000 years, possess an elaborate cell wall α-mannan. The influence of yeast mannan on the ecology of the human microbiota is unknown. Here we show that yeast α-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 α-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

Exploring the human gut microbiota enzymes involved in the complex carbohydrate degradation

La présence de sucres complexes constitue une source nutritive importante pour le microbiote qui assure leur dégradation via des CAZymes. Dans le cadre de cette thèse, nous avons construit in silico un modèle de type minimicrobiome contenant 177 génomes représentatifs des communautés bactériennes dans un microbiote intestinal conventionnel. L’analyse du contenu de ce minimicrobiome nous a permis d’estimer leur abondance et leur diversité. De plus, la comparaison du contenu CAZymes par groupe bactérien de type « phylum » a révélé une variabilité inter-phylum, notamment une diversité de familles CAZymes et une abondance en gènes bien plus élevées chez les Bacteroidetes. Dans un deuxième temps, nous avons développé une puce à ADN sur laquelle nous avons greffé des sondes non redondantes ciblant plus de 6500 gènes codant des CAZymes. Nous avons ensuite testé la "puce CAZyme" par hybridation d’ADN bactérien extrait d’échantillons de selles. Nos résultats suggèrent que cette méthode serait plus sensible dans la détection de CAZymes provenant de bactéries rares par rapport à la métagénomique. Ainsi, il est intéressant de noter qu’en utilisant la puce CAZyme, nous avons pu détecter un gène codant pour une famille GH6, alors que les études métagénomiques n’ont jamais réussi à détecter ce gène dans le microbiome intestinal humain et animal. Enfin, l’examen de huit échantillons de selles a permis l’identification d’un noyau CAZome contenant 46 familles de GHs et PLs, ce qui suggérerait que le microbiote intestinal est caractérisé par une stabilité fonctionnelle en dépit de variations taxonomiques importantes entre les individus testés et indépendamment de leur état de santé.The bacterial communities that inhabit our gut ensure their growth and survival by extracting their carbon source from the food that transits through the intestines. The complex carbohydrates included in the human diet are almost exclusively degraded by the gut microbiota using CAZymes. We built a minimicrobiome model using 177 genomes associated to gut microbiota. The CAZyme content analysis revealed their huge diversity and abundance in our minimicrobiome model. At the phylum level, the Bacteroidetes genomes showed the greatest CAZyme diversity and abundance. Interestingly, as most of CAZymes found in Bacteroidetes genomes contain a signal peptide allowing their secretion in the intestinal lumen and/or in periplasmic space, members of this phylum are suggested to be the primary degraders of complex carbohydrates. Further, we developed a microarray containing probes to target more than 6,500 CAZyme genes. We then validated the CAZyme microarray by the hybridization of bacterial DNA extracted from the stool samples of individuals. Our results suggest that a microarray-based study can detect genes from low-abundance bacteria better than metagenomic-based studies. A striking example was the detection of gene encoding a GH6-family in all subjects examined, whereas metagenomic studies have consistently failed to detect this gene in both human and animal gut microbiomes. In addition, an examination of eight stool samples allowed the identification of a corresponding core CAZome containing 46 CAZymes families that suggests a functional stability of the gut microbiota despite large taxonomical variations between individuals and independently of health state

Le microbiote intestinal et la digestion des polysaccharides = Gut microbiota and digestion of polysaccharides

The distal gut microbiota corresponds to all the microorganisms, essentially bacteria, that reside commonly in the colon. The microbial population is characterized by a large taxonomical diversity, counting approximately a thousand distinct bacterial species for a single individual. The pace of investigations of this microbial system has greatly accelerated these last few years, fuelled by the advent of metagenomics techniques, which do not rely on bacterial cultivation, but utilize high throughput DNA sequencing. In just a few years studies of the intestinal microbiota have become fashionable, albeit with often contradictory results when attempting to correlate changes in microbial composition to diverse pathologies. The article focusses on one of the essential functions of the distal gut microbiota: the digestion of the immense variety of polysaccharides from our diet that enzymes of the host cannot breakdown

Le microbiote intestinal et la digestion des polysaccharides

Le microbiote intestinal distal correspond à l’ensemble des micro-organismes, essentiellement des bactéries, qui résident habituellement dans le côlon. Cette population microbienne est caractérisée par une grande diversité taxonomique ; on estime à environ un millier le nombre d’espèces bactériennes distinctes pour un seul individu. L’étude de ce système microbien a brutalement accéléré ces dernières années grâce à l’avènement de techniques dites métagénomiques, qui s’affranchissent de la culture bactérienne et reposent sur le séquençage de l’ADN. En quelques années, le microbiote intestinal a fait l’objet de nombreuses études, aux résultats souvent contradictoires, qui tentent de corréler les variations de la population bactérienne à diverses pathologies. Cet article fait le point sur une des fonctions essentielles du microbiote intestinal : la digestion de l’immense diversité des polysaccharides de notre alimentation, que les enzymes de l’hôte ne peuvent digérer