Abstract
SummaryIn this paper, we reveal and characterize cross‐feeding behaviour between the common gut commensal Bacteroides cellulosilyticus (Baccell) and certain bifidobacterial strains, including Bifidobacterium breve UCC2003, when grown on a medium containing Larch Wood Arabinogalactan (LW‐AG). We furthermore show that cross‐feeding is dependent on the release of β‐1,3‐galacto‐di/trisaccharides (β‐1,3‐GOS), and identified that the bga gene cluster of B. breve UCC2003 allows β‐1,3‐GOS metabolism. The product of bgaB is presumed to be responsible for the import of β‐1,3‐GOS, while the bgaA gene product, a glycoside hydrolase family 2 member, was shown to hydrolyse both β‐1,3‐galactobiose and β‐1,3‐galactotriose into galactose monomers. This study advances our understanding of strain‐specific syntrophic interactions between two glycan degraders in the human gut in the presence of AG‐type dietary polysaccharides.
Highlights
Arabinogalactans (AGs) represent plant cell wall-associated proteoglycans which are widely distributed in the plant kingdom (Fujita et al, 2019)
Microbial Biotechnology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd and Society for Applied Microbiology
We demonstrate that growth of Bacteroides cellulosilyticus on Larch Wood Arabinogalactan (LW-AG) releases rhamnose and ß-1,3-galactooligosaccharides with a varying degree of polymerization (DP) that can be metabolized by a selected few bifidobacteria, including B. breve UCC2003
Summary
Arabinogalactans (AGs) represent plant cell wall-associated proteoglycans which are widely distributed in the plant kingdom (Fujita et al, 2019). Some AGs, exemplified by the glycan isolated from Larch Wood, are considered simpler in their chemical structure, whereas others, such as Gum Arabic from the Acacia Senegal tree, are considered more complex (Cartmell et al, 2018). The latter AG (referred to as GA-AG) is used extensively in the food industry as emulsifier (Mun~ozMun~oz et al, 2017), while the former has been commercialized as a fibre with purported prebiotic activity (Fujita et al, 2014). The common use of AGs as food additives, and their ubiquitous presence in plant species, explains why these glycans constitute common components of the human diet
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