Prioritization of polysaccharide utilization and control of regulator activation in Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron

Current models in bacterial hemicellulase-encoding gene regulation

The discovery and characterization of bacterial carbohydrate-active enzymes is a fundamental component of biotechnology innovation, particularly for renewable fuels and chemicals; however, these studies have increasingly transitioned to exploring the complex regulation required for recalcitrant polysaccharide utilization. This pivot is largely due to the current need to engineer and optimize enzymes for maximal degradation in industrial or biomedical applications. Given the structural simplicity of a single cellulose polymer, and the relatively few enzyme classes required for complete bioconversion, the regulation of cellulases in bacteria has been thoroughly discussed in the literature. However, the diversity of hemicelluloses found in plant biomass and the multitude of carbohydrate-active enzymes required for their deconstruction has resulted in a less comprehensive understanding of bacterial hemicellulase-encoding gene regulation. Here we review the mechanisms of this process and common themes found in the transcriptomic response during plant biomass utilization. By comparing regulatory systems from both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, as well as drawing parallels to cellulase regulation, our goals are to highlight the shared and distinct features of bacterial hemicellulase-encoding gene regulation and provide a set of guiding questions to improve our understanding of bacterial lignocellulose utilization. KEY POINTS: • Canonical regulatory mechanisms for bacterial hemicellulase-encoding gene expression include hybrid two-component systems (HTCS), extracytoplasmic function (ECF)-σ/anti-σ systems, and carbon catabolite repression (CCR). • Current transcriptomic approaches are increasingly being used to identify hemicellulase-encoding gene regulatory patterns coupled with computational predictions for transcriptional regulators. • Future work should emphasize genetic approaches to improve systems biology tools available for model bacterial systems and emerging microbes with biotechnology potential. Specifically, optimization of Gram-positive systems will require integration of degradative and fermentative capabilities, while optimization of Gram-negative systems will require bolstering the potency of lignocellulolytic capabilities.

Transcriptomic analysis of polysaccharide utilization loci reveals substrate preferences in ruminal generalists Segatella bryantii TF1-3 and Xylanibacter ruminicola KHP1

Bacteria of the genera Xylanibacter and Segatella are among the most dominant groups in the rumen microbiota. They are characterized by the ability to utilize different hemicelluloses and pectin of plant cell-wall as well as plant energy storage polysaccharides. The degradation is possible with the use of cell envelope bound multiprotein apparatuses coded in polysaccharide utilization loci (PULs), which have been shown to be substrate specific. The knowledge of PUL presence in rumen Xylanibacter and Segatella based on bioinformatic analyses is already established and transcriptomic and genetic approaches confirmed predicted PULs for a limited number of substrates. In this study, we transcriptomically identified additional different PULs in Xylanibacter ruminicola KHP1 and Segatella bryantii TF1-3. We also identified substrate preferences and found that specific growth rate and extent of growth impacted the choice of substrates preferentially used for degradation. These preferred substrates were used by both strains simultaneously as judged by their PUL upregulation. Lastly, β-glucan and xyloglucan were used by these strains in the absence of bioinformatically and transcriptomically identifiable PUL systems.

Metabolism mechanism of glycosaminoglycans by the gut microbiota: Bacteroides and lactic acid bacteria: A review

Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), as a class of biopolymers, play pivotal roles in various biological metabolisms such as cell signaling, tissue development, cell apoptosis, immune modulation, and growth factor activity. They are mainly present in the colon in free forms, which are essential for maintaining the host's health by regulating the colonization and proliferation of gut microbiota. Therefore, it is important to explain the specific members of the gut microbiota for GAGs' degradation and their enzymatic machinery in vivo. This review provides an outline of GAGs-utilizing entities in the Bacteroides, highlighting their polysaccharide utilization loci (PULs) and the enzymatic machinery involved in chondroitin sulfate (CS) and heparin (Hep)/heparan sulfate (HS). While there are some variations in GAGs' degradation among different genera, we analyze the reputed GAGs' utilization clusters in lactic acid bacteria (LAB), based on recent studies on GAGs' degradation. The enzymatic machinery involved in Hep/HS and CS metabolism within LAB is also discussed. Thus, to elucidate the precise mechanisms utilizing GAGs by diverse gut microbiota will augment our understanding of their effects on human health and contribute to potential therapeutic strategies for diseases.

Gut microbes modulate (p)ppGpp during a time-restricted feeding regimen

IMPORTANCE

Mammals do not eat continuously, instead concentrating their feeding to a restricted portion of the day. This behavior presents the mammalian gut microbiota with a fluctuating environment with consequences for host-microbiome interaction, infection risk, immune response, drug metabolism, and other aspects of health. We demonstrate that in mice, gut microbes elevate levels of an intracellular signaling molecule, (p)ppGpp, during the fasting phase of a time-restricted feeding regimen. Disabling this response in a representative human gut commensal species significantly reduces colonization during this host-fasting phase. This response appears to be general across species and conserved across mammalian gut communities, highlighting a pathway that allows healthy gut microbiomes to maintain stability in an unstable environment.

Inducible CRISPR-targeted "knockdown" of human gut Bacteroides in gnotobiotic mice discloses glycan utilization strategies

Understanding how members of the human gut microbiota prioritize nutrient resources is one component of a larger effort to decipher the mechanisms defining microbial community robustness and resiliency in health and disease. This knowledge is foundational for development of microbiota-directed therapeutics. To model how bacteria prioritize glycans in the gut, germfree mice were colonized with 13 human gut bacterial strains, including seven saccharolytic Bacteroidaceae species. Animals were fed a Western diet supplemented with pea fiber. After community assembly, an inducible CRISPR-based system was used to selectively and temporarily reduce the absolute abundance of Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron or B. cellulosilyticus by 10- to 60-fold. Each knockdown resulted in specific, reproducible increases in the abundances of other Bacteroidaceae and dynamic alterations in their expression of genes involved in glycan utilization. Emergence of these "alternate consumers" was associated with preservation of community saccharolytic activity. Using an inducible system for CRISPR base editing in vitro, we disrupted translation of transporters critical for utilizing dietary polysaccharides in Phocaeicola vulgatus, a B. cellulosilyticus knockdown-responsive taxon. In vitro and in vivo tests of the resulting P. vulgatus mutants allowed us to further characterize mechanisms associated with its increased fitness after knockdown. In principle, the approach described can be applied to study utilization of a range of nutrients and to preclinical efforts designed to develop therapeutic strategies for precision manipulation of microbial communities.

Biglycan regulated colorectal cancer progress by modulating enteric neuron-derived IL-10 and abundance of Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron

Biglycan (BGN) is a proteoglycan with branch chains and highly expressed in enteric neurons in the tumor tissue of colorectal cancer (CRC), which is negatively associated with survival rates in patients with CRC. However, how the proteoglycan promotes the progress of CRC through interacting with bacteria and regulating the immune response of enteric neurons remains largely unknown. In the present study, we found that biglycan deficiency changed tumor distribution in a colitis-associated colon cancer model. Furthermore, we revealed that BGN deficiency inhibits tumor growth in an allograft tumor model and the migration of cancer cell by upregulating interleukin-10 expression in enteric neurons. Significantly, we demonstrated that biglycan deficiency enriched the abundance of Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron through competing with it for chondroitin sulfate to inhibit CRC progress. Our work provided new insights into the interaction between host proteoglycan and gut microbiota as well as the role of enteric neurons in the tumor microenvironment.

Effects of the Exopolysaccharide from Lactiplantibacillus plantarum HMX2 on the Growth Performance, Immune Response, and Intestinal Microbiota of Juvenile Turbot, Scophthalmus maximus

In this study, the exopolysaccharide (EPS) from Lactiplantibacillus plantarum (HMX2) was isolated from Chinese Northeast Sauerkraut. Its effects on juvenile turbot were investigated by adding different concentrations of HMX2-EPS (C: 0 mg/kg, H1: 100 mg/kg, H2: 500 mg/kg) to the feed. Compared with the control group, HMX2-EPS significantly improved the growth performance of juvenile turbot. The activities of antioxidant enzymes, digestive enzymes, and immune-related enzymes were significantly increased. HMX2-EPS could also increase the secretion of inflammatory factors and enhance the immune response of turbot by regulating the IFN signal transduction pathway and exhibit stronger survival rates after the A. hydrophila challenge. Moreover, HMX2-EPS could improve the diversity of intestinal microbiota in juvenile fish, increase the abundance of potential probiotics, and reduce the abundance of pathogenic bacteria. The function of gut microbes in metabolism and the immune system could also be improved. All results showed better effects with high concentrations of HMX2-EPS. These results indicated that HMX2-EPS supplementation in the diet could promote growth, improve antioxidant activity, digestive capacity, and immunity capacity, and actively regulate the intestinal microbiota of juvenile turbot. In conclusion, this study might provide basic technical and scientific support for the application of L. plantarum in aquatic feed.

Mucin glycans drive oral microbial community composition and function

Human microbiome composition is closely tied to health, but how the host manages its microbial inhabitants remains unclear. One important, but understudied, factor is the natural host environment: mucus, which contains gel-forming glycoproteins (mucins) that display hundreds of glycan structures with potential regulatory function. Leveraging a tractable culture-based system to study how mucins influence oral microbial communities, we found that mucin glycans enable the coexistence of diverse microbes, while resisting disease-associated compositional shifts. Mucins from tissues with unique glycosylation differentially tuned microbial composition, as did isolated mucin glycan libraries, uncovering the importance of specific glycan patterns in microbiome modulation. We found that mucins shape microbial communities in several ways: serving as nutrients to support metabolic diversity, organizing spatial structure through reduced aggregation, and possibly limiting antagonism between competing taxa. Overall, this work identifies mucin glycans as a natural host mechanism and potential therapeutic intervention to maintain healthy microbial communities.

Harnessing gut microbes for glycan detection and quantification

Glycans facilitate critical biological functions and control the mammalian gut microbiota composition by supplying differentially accessible nutrients to distinct microbial subsets. Therefore, identifying unique glycan substrates that support defined microbial populations could inform therapeutic avenues to treat diseases via modulation of the gut microbiota composition and metabolism. However, examining heterogeneous glycan mixtures for individual microbial substrates is hindered by glycan structural complexity and diversity, which presents substantial challenges to glycomics approaches. Fortuitously, gut microbes encode specialized sensor proteins that recognize unique glycan structures and in-turn activate predictable, specific, and dynamic transcriptional responses. Here, we harness this microbial machinery to indicate the presence and abundance of compositionally similar, yet structurally distinct glycans, using a transcriptional reporter we develop. We implement these tools to examine glycan mixtures, isolate target molecules for downstream characterization, and quantify the recovered products. We assert that this toolkit could dramatically enhance our understanding of the mammalian intestinal environment and identify host-microbial interactions critical for human health.

Dietary sugars silence the master regulator of carbohydrate utilization in human gut Bacteroides species

The mammalian gut microbiota is a critical human health determinant with therapeutic potential for remediation of many diseases. The host diet is a key factor governing the gut microbiota composition by altering nutrient availability and supporting the expansion of distinct microbial populations. Diets rich in simple sugars modify the abundance of microbial subsets, enriching for microbiotas that elicit pathogenic outcomes. We previously demonstrated that diets rich in fructose and glucose can reduce the fitness and abundance of a human gut symbiont, Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron, by silencing the production of a critical intestinal colonization protein, called Roc, via its mRNA leader through an unknown mechanism. We have now determined that dietary sugars silence Roc by reducing the activity of BT4338, a master regulator of carbohydrate utilization. Here, we demonstrate that BT4338 is required for Roc synthesis, and that BT4338 activity is silenced by glucose or fructose. We show that the consequences of glucose and fructose on orthologous transcription factors are conserved across human intestinal Bacteroides species. This work identifies a molecular pathway by which a common dietary additive alters microbial gene expression in the gut that could be harnessed to modulate targeted microbial populations for future therapeutic interventions.

Single-molecule dynamics of surface lipoproteins in bacteroides indicate similarities and cooperativity

The gut microbiota comprises hundreds of species with a composition shaped by the available glycans. The well-studied starch utilization system (Sus) is a prototype for glycan uptake in the human gut bacterium Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron (Bt). Each Sus-like system includes outer-membrane proteins, which translocate glycan into the periplasm, and one or more cell-surface glycoside hydrolases, which break down a specific (cognate) polymer substrate. Although the molecular mechanisms of the Sus system are known, how the Sus and Sus-like proteins cooperate remains elusive. Previously, we used single-molecule and super-resolution fluorescence microscopy to show that SusG is mobile on the outer membrane and slows down in the presence of starch. Here, we compare the dynamics of three glycoside hydrolases: SusG, Bt4668, and Bt1760, which target starch, galactan, and levan, respectively. We characterized the diffusion of each surface hydrolase in the presence of its cognate glycan and found that all three enzymes are mostly immobile in the presence of the polysaccharide, consistent with carbohydrate binding. Moreover, experiments in glucose versus oligosaccharides suggest that the enzyme dynamics depend on their expression level. Furthermore, we characterized enzyme diffusion in a mixture of glycans and found that noncognate polysaccharides modify the dynamics of SusG and Bt1760 but not Bt4668. We investigated these systems with polysaccharide mixtures and genetic knockouts and found that noncognate polysaccharides modify hydrolase dynamics through some combination of nonspecific protein interactions and downregulation of the hydrolase. Overall, these experiments extend our understanding of how Sus-like lipoprotein dynamics can be modified by changing carbohydrate conditions and the expression level of the enzyme.

Colon mucus in colorectal neoplasia and beyond

Little was known about mammalian colon mucus (CM) until the beginning of the 21^st century. Since that time considerable progress has been made in basic research addressing CM structure and functions. Human CM is formed by two distinct layers composed of gel-forming glycosylated mucins that are permanently secreted by goblet cells of the colonic epithelium. The inner layer is dense and impenetrable for bacteria, whereas the loose outer layer provides a habitat for abundant commensal microbiota. Mucus barrier integrity is essential for preventing bacterial contact with the mucosal epithelium and maintaining homeostasis in the gut, but it can be impaired by a variety of factors, including CM-damaging switch of commensal bacteria to mucin glycan consumption due to dietary fiber deficiency. It is proven that impairments in CM structure and function can lead to colonic barrier deterioration that opens direct bacterial access to the epithelium. Bacteria-induced damage dysregulates epithelial proliferation and causes mucosal inflammatory responses that may expand to the loosened CM and eventually result in severe disorders, including colitis and neoplastic growth. Recently described formation of bacterial biofilms within the inner CM layer was shown to be associated with both inflammation and cancer. Although obvious gaps in our knowledge of human CM remain, its importance for the pathogenesis of major colorectal diseases, comprising inflammatory bowel disease and colorectal cancer, is already recognized. Continuing progress in CM exploration is likely to result in the development of a range of new useful clinical applications addressing colorectal disease diagnosis, prevention and therapy.

Utilization of glycosaminoglycans by the human gut microbiota: participating bacteria and their enzymatic machineries

Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) are consistently present in the human colon in free forms and as part of proteoglycans. Their utilization is critical for the colonization and proliferation of gut bacteria and also the health of hosts. Hence, it is essential to determine the GAG-degrading members of the gut bacteria and their enzymatic machinery for GAG depolymerization. In this review, we have summarized the reported GAG utilizers from Bacteroides and presented their polysaccharide utilization loci (PUL) and related enzymatic machineries for the degradation of chondroitin and heparin/heparan sulfate. Although similar comprehensive knowledge of GAG degradation is not available for other gut phyla, we have specified recently isolated GAG degraders from gut Firmicutes and Proteobacteria, and analyzed their genomes for the presence of putative GAG PULs. Deciphering the precise GAG utilization mechanism for various phyla will augment our understanding of their effects on human health.

Comparative Proteomic Analysis of Fucosylated Glycoproteins Produced by Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron Under Different Polysaccharide Nutrition Conditions

Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron, one of the most eminent representative gut commensal Bacteroides species, is able to use the L-fucose in host-derived and dietary polysaccharides to modify its capsular polysaccharides and glycoproteins through a mammalian-like salvage metabolic pathway. This process is essential for the colonization of the bacteria and for symbiosis with the host. However, despite the importance of fucosylated proteins (FGPs) in B. thetaiotaomicron, their types, distribution, and functions remain unclear. In this study, the effects of different polysaccharide (corn starch, mucin, and fucoidan) nutrition conditions on newly synthesized FGPs expressions and fucosylation are investigated using a chemical biological method based on metabolic labeling and bioorthogonal reaction. According to the results of label-free quantification, 559 FGPs (205 downregulated and 354 upregulated) are affected by the dietary conditions. Of these differentially expressed proteins, 65 proteins show extremely sensitive to polysaccharide nutrition conditions (FGPs fold change/global protein fold change ≥2.0 or ≤0.5). Specifically, the fucosylation of the chondroitin sulfate ABC enzyme, Sus proteins, and cationic efflux system proteins varies significantly upon the addition of mucin, corn starch, or fucoidan. Moreover, these polysaccharides can trigger an appreciable increase in the fucosylation level of the two-component system and ammonium transport proteins. These results highlight the efficiency of the combined metabolic glycan labeling and bio-orthogonal reaction in enriching the intestinal Bacteroides glycoproteins. Moreover, it emphasizes the sensitivity of Bacteroides fucosylation to polysaccharide nutrition conditions, which allows for the regulation of bacterial growth.

Strain-level fitness in the gut microbiome is an emergent property of glycans and a single metabolite

The human gut microbiota resides within a diverse chemical environment challenging our ability to understand the forces shaping this ecosystem. Here, we reveal that fitness of the Bacteroidales, the dominant order of bacteria in the human gut, is an emergent property of glycans and one specific metabolite, butyrate. Distinct sugars serve as strain-variable fitness switches activating context-dependent inhibitory functions of butyrate. Differential fitness effects of butyrate within the Bacteroides are mediated by species-level variation in Acyl-CoA thioesterase activity and nucleotide polymorphisms regulating an Acyl-CoA transferase. Using in vivo multi-omic profiles, we demonstrate Bacteroides fitness in the human gut is associated together, but not independently, with Acyl-CoA transferase expression and butyrate. Our data reveal that each strain of the Bacteroides exists within a unique fitness landscape based on the interaction of chemical components unpredictable by the effect of each part alone mediated by flexibility in the core genome.

Unifying themes and distinct features of carbon and nitrogen assimilation by polysaccharide-degrading bacteria: a summary of four model systems

Our current understanding of enzymatic polysaccharide degradation has come from a huge number of in vitro studies with purified enzymes. While this vast body of work has been invaluable in identifying and characterizing novel mechanisms of action and engineering desirable traits into these enzymes, a comprehensive picture of how these enzymes work as part of a native in vivo system is less clear. Recently, several model bacteria have emerged with genetic systems that allow for a more nuanced study of carbohydrate active enzymes (CAZymes) and how their activity affects bacterial carbon metabolism. With these bacterial model systems, it is now possible to not only study a single nutrient system in isolation (i.e., carbohydrate degradation and carbon metabolism), but also how multiple systems are integrated. Given that most environmental polysaccharides are carbon rich but nitrogen poor (e.g., lignocellulose), the interplay between carbon and nitrogen metabolism in polysaccharide-degrading bacteria can now be studied in a physiologically relevant manner. Therefore, in this review, we have summarized what has been experimentally determined for CAZyme regulation, production, and export in relation to nitrogen metabolism for two Gram-positive (Caldicellulosiruptor bescii and Clostridium thermocellum) and two Gram-negative (Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron and Cellvibrio japonicus) polysaccharide-degrading bacteria. By comparing and contrasting these four bacteria, we have highlighted the shared and unique features of each, with a focus on in vivo studies, in regard to carbon and nitrogen assimilation. We conclude with what we believe are two important questions that can act as guideposts for future work to better understand the integration of carbon and nitrogen metabolism in polysaccharide-degrading bacteria. KEY POINTS: • Regardless of CAZyme deployment system, the generation of a local pool of oligosaccharides is a common strategy among Gram-negative and Gram-positive polysaccharide degraders as a means to maximally recoup the energy expenditure of CAZyme production and export. • Due to the nitrogen deficiency of insoluble polysaccharide-containing substrates, Gram-negative and Gram-positive polysaccharide degraders have a diverse set of strategies for supplementation and assimilation. • Future work needs to precisely characterize the energetic expenditures of CAZyme deployment and bolster our understanding of how carbon and nitrogen metabolism are integrated in both Gram-negative and Gram-positive polysaccharide-degrading bacteria, as both of these will significantly influence a given bacterium's suitability for biotechnology applications.

Home, sweet home: how mucus accommodates our microbiota

As a natural environment for human-microbiota interactions, healthy mucus houses a remarkably stable and diverse microbial community. Maintaining this microbiota is essential to human health, both to support the commensal bacteria that perform a wide array of beneficial functions and to prevent the outgrowth of pathogens. However, how the host selects and maintains a specialized microbiota remains largely unknown. In this viewpoint, we propose several strategies by which mucus may regulate the composition and function of the human microbiota and discuss how compromised mucus barriers in disease can give rise to microbial dysbiosis.

Communal living: glycan utilization by the human gut microbiota

Our lower gastrointestinal tract plays host to a vast consortium of microbes, known as the human gut microbiota (HGM). The HGM thrives on a complex and diverse range of glycan structures from both dietary and host sources, the breakdown of which requires the concerted action of cohorts of carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes), carbohydrate-binding proteins, and transporters. The glycan utilization profile of individual taxa, whether 'specialist' or 'generalist', is dictated by the number and functional diversity of these glycan utilization systems. Furthermore, taxa in the HGM may either compete or cooperate in glycan deconstruction, thereby creating a complex ecological web spanning diverse nutrient niches. As a result, our diet plays a central role in shaping the composition of the HGM. This review presents an overview of our current understanding of glycan utilization by the HGM on three levels: (i) molecular mechanisms of individual glycan deconstruction and uptake by key bacteria, (ii) glycan-mediated microbial interactions, and (iii) community-scale effects of dietary changes. Despite significant recent advancements, there remains much to be discovered regarding complex glycan metabolism in the HGM and its potential to affect positive health outcomes.

If you eat it, or secrete it, they will grow: the expanding list of nutrients utilized by human gut bacteria

In order to persist, successful bacterial inhabitants of the human gut need to adapt to changing nutrient conditions, which are influenced by host diet and a variety of other factors. For members of the Bacteroidetes and several other phyla, this has resulted in diversification of a variety of enzyme-based systems that equip them to sense and utilize carbohydrate-based nutrients from host, diet, and bacterial origin. In this review, we focus first on human gut Bacteroides and describe recent findings regarding polysaccharide utilization loci (PULs) and the mechanisms of the multi-protein systems they encode, including their regulation and the expanding diversity of substrates that they target. Next, we highlight previously understudied substrates such as monosaccharides, nucleosides, and Maillard reaction products that can also affect the gut microbiota by feeding symbionts that possess specific systems for their metabolism. Since some pathogens preferentially utilize these nutrients, they may represent nutrient niches competed for by commensals and pathogens. Finally, we address recent work to describe nutrient acquisition mechanisms in other important gut species such as those belonging to the Gram-positive anaerobic phyla Actinobacteria and Firmicutes, as well as the Proteobacteria Because gut bacteria contribute to many aspects of health and disease, we showcase advances in the field of synthetic biology, which seeks to engineer novel, diet-controlled nutrient utilization pathways within gut symbionts to create rationally designed live therapeutics.

Preferential use of plant glycans for growth by Bacteroides ovatus

B. ovatus is a member of the human gut microbiota with a broad capability to degrade complex glycans. Here we show that B. ovatus degrades plant polysaccharides in a preferential order, and that glycan structural complexity plays a role in determining the prioritisation of polysaccharide usage.

Polysaccharides catabolism by the human gut bacterium -Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron: advances and perspectives

In recent years, the degradation processes of polysaccharides by human gut microbiota are receiving considerable attention due to the discoveries of the powerful function of gut microbiota. Gut microbiota has developed a sensitive, accurate, and complex system for sensing, capturing, and degrading different polysaccharides. Among the gut microbiota, Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron, a representative species of Bacteroides, is considered as the best degrader of polysaccharides and a potential probiotic in pharmaceutical and food industries. Here, we summarize the degradation system of B. thetaiotaomicron and the degradation pathways of different polysaccharides by B. thetaiotaomicron. We also describe a technical route for investigating a specific polysaccharide degradation pathway by human gut bacteria. In addition, we also provide the future perspectives in the development of novel polysaccharides or oligosaccharides drugs, precision microbiology medicine, and personalized nutrition.

Nutrient-dependent morphological variability of Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron

Unique morphologies can enable bacteria to survive in their native environment. Furthermore, many bacteria change their cell shape to adapt to different environmental conditions. For instance, some bacteria increase their surface area under carbon or nitrogen starvation. Bacteriodes thetaiotaomicron is an abundant human gut species; it efficiently degrades a number of carbohydrates and also supports the growth of other bacteria by breaking down complex polysaccharides. The gut provides a variable environment as nutrient availability is subject to the diet and health of the host, yet how gut bacteria adapt and change their morphologies under different nutrient conditions has not been studied. Here, for the first time, we report an elongated B. thetaiotaomicron morphology under sugar-limited conditions using live-cell imaging; this elongated morphology is enhanced in the presence of sodium bicarbonate. Similarly, we also observed that sodium bicarbonate produces an elongated-length phenotype in another Gram-negative gut bacterium, Escherichia coli . The increase in cell length might provide an adaptive advantage for cells to survive under nutrient-limited conditions.

Engineering dual-glycan responsive expression systems for tunable production of heterologous proteins in Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron

Genetically engineering intestinal bacteria, such as Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron (B. theta), holds potential for creating new classes of biological devices, such as diagnostics or therapeutic delivery systems. Here, we have developed a series of B. theta strains that produce functional transgenic enzymes in response to dextran and arabinogalactan, two chemically distinct glycans. Expression systems for single glycan induction, and a novel “dual-glycan” expression system, requiring the presence of both dextran and arabinogalactan, have been developed. In addition, we have created two different chromosomal integration systems and one episomal vector system, compatible with engineered recipient strains, to improve the throughput and flexibility of gene cloning, integration, and expression in B. theta. To monitor activity, we have demonstrated the functionality of two different transgenic enzymes: NanoLuc, a luciferase, and BuGH16C, an agarase from the human intestinal bacterium, Bacteroides uniforms NP1. Together this expression platform provides a new collection of glycan-responsive tools to improve the strength and fidelity of transgene expression in B. theta and provides proof-of-concept for engineering more complex multi-glycan expression systems.

Adaptation of Syntenic Xyloglucan Utilization Loci of Human Gut Bacteroidetes to Polysaccharide Side Chain Diversity

Genome sequencing has revealed substantial variation in the predicted abilities of individual species within animal gut microbiota to metabolize the complex carbohydrates comprising dietary fiber. At the same time, a currently limited body of functional studies precludes a richer understanding of how dietary glycan structures affect the gut microbiota composition and community dynamics. Here, using biochemical and biophysical techniques, we identified and characterized differences among recombinant proteins from syntenic xyloglucan utilization loci (XyGUL) of three Bacteroides and one Dysgonomonas species from the human gut, which drive substrate specificity and access to distinct polysaccharide side chains. Enzymology of four syntenic glycoside hydrolase family 5 subfamily 4 (GH5_4) endo-xyloglucanases revealed surprising differences in xyloglucan (XyG) backbone cleavage specificity, including the ability of some homologs to hydrolyze congested branched positions. Further, differences in the complement of GH43 alpha-l-arabinofuranosidases and GH95 alpha-l-fucosidases among syntenic XyGUL confer distinct abilities to fully saccharify plant species-specific arabinogalactoxyloglucan and/or fucogalactoxyloglucan. Finally, characterization of highly sequence-divergent cell surface glycan-binding proteins (SGBPs) across syntenic XyGUL revealed a novel group of XyG oligosaccharide-specific SGBPs encoded within select BacteroidesIMPORTANCE The catabolism of complex carbohydrates that otherwise escape the endogenous digestive enzymes of humans and other animals drives the composition and function of the gut microbiota. Thus, detailed molecular characterization of dietary glycan utilization systems is essential both to understand the ecology of these complex communities and to manipulate their compositions, e.g., to benefit human health. Our research reveals new insight into how ubiquitous members of the human gut microbiota have evolved a set of microheterogeneous gene clusters to efficiently respond to the structural variations of plant xyloglucans. The data here will enable refined functional prediction of xyloglucan utilization among diverse environmental taxa in animal guts and beyond.

Biphasic cellular adaptations and ecological implications of Alteromonas macleodii degrading a mixture of algal polysaccharides

Algal polysaccharides are an important bacterial nutrient source and central component of marine food webs. However, cellular and ecological aspects concerning the bacterial degradation of polysaccharide mixtures, as presumably abundant in natural habitats, are poorly understood. Here, we contextualize marine polysaccharide mixtures and their bacterial utilization in several ways using the model bacterium Alteromonas macleodii 83-1, which can degrade multiple algal polysaccharides and contributes to polysaccharide degradation in the oceans. Transcriptomic, proteomic and exometabolomic profiling revealed cellular adaptations of A. macleodii 83-1 when degrading a mix of laminarin, alginate and pectin. Strain 83-1 exhibited substrate prioritization driven by catabolite repression, with initial laminarin utilization followed by simultaneous alginate/pectin utilization. This biphasic phenotype coincided with pronounced shifts in gene expression, protein abundance and metabolite secretion, mainly involving CAZymes/polysaccharide utilization loci but also other functional traits. Distinct temporal changes in exometabolome composition, including the alginate/pectin-specific secretion of pyrroloquinoline quinone, suggest that substrate-dependent adaptations influence chemical interactions within the community. The ecological relevance of cellular adaptations was underlined by molecular evidence that common marine macroalgae, in particular Saccharina and Fucus, release mixtures of alginate and pectin-like rhamnogalacturonan. Moreover, CAZyme microdiversity and the genomic predisposition towards polysaccharide mixtures among Alteromonas spp. suggest polysaccharide-related traits as an ecophysiological factor, potentially relating to distinct 'carbohydrate utilization types' with different ecological strategies. Considering the substantial primary productivity of algae on global scales, these insights contribute to the understanding of bacteria-algae interactions and the remineralization of chemically diverse polysaccharide pools, a key step in marine carbon cycling.

Receptor uptake arrays for vitamin B12, siderophores, and glycans shape bacterial communities

Molecular variants of vitamin B₁₂, siderophores, and glycans occur. To take up variant forms, bacteria may express an array of receptors. The gut microbe Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron has three different receptors to take up variants of vitamin B₁₂ and 88 receptors to take up various glycans. The design of receptor arrays reflects key processes that shape cellular evolution. Competition may focus each species on a subset of the available nutrient diversity. Some gut bacteria can take up only a narrow range of carbohydrates, whereas species such as B. thetaiotaomicron can digest many different complex glycans. Comparison of different nutrients, habitats, and genomes provides opportunity to test hypotheses about the breadth of receptor arrays. Another important process concerns fluctuations in nutrient availability. Such fluctuations enhance the value of cellular sensors, which gain information about environmental availability and adjust receptor deployment. Bacteria often adjust receptor expression in response to fluctuations of particular carbohydrate food sources. Some species may adjust expression of uptake receptors for specific siderophores. How do cells use sensor information to control the response to fluctuations? This question about regulatory wiring relates to problems that arise in control theory and artificial intelligence. Control theory clarifies how to analyze environmental fluctuations in relation to the design of sensors and response systems. Recent advances in deep learning studies of artificial intelligence focus on the architecture of regulatory wiring and the ways in which complex control networks represent and classify environmental states. I emphasize the similar design problems that arise in cellular evolution, control theory, and artificial intelligence. I connect those broad conceptual aspects to many testable hypotheses for bacterial uptake of vitamin B₁₂, siderophores, and glycans.

Reciprocal Prioritization to Dietary Glycans by Gut Bacteria in a Competitive Environment Promotes Stable Coexistence

When presented with nutrient mixtures, several human gut Bacteroides species exhibit hierarchical utilization of glycans through a phenomenon that resembles catabolite repression. However, it is unclear how closely these observed physiological changes, often measured by altered transcription of glycan utilization genes, mirror actual glycan depletion. To understand the glycan prioritization strategies of two closely related human gut symbionts, Bacteroides ovatus and Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron, we performed a series of time course assays in which both species were individually grown in a medium with six different glycans that both species can degrade. Disappearance of the substrates and transcription of the corresponding polysaccharide utilization loci (PULs) were measured. Each species utilized some glycans before others, but with different priorities per species, providing insight into species-specific hierarchical preferences. In general, the presence of highly prioritized glycans repressed transcription of genes involved in utilizing lower-priority nutrients. However, transcriptional sensitivity to some glycans varied relative to the residual concentration in the medium, with some PULs that target high-priority substrates remaining highly expressed even after their target glycan had been mostly depleted. Coculturing of these organisms in the same mixture showed that the hierarchical orders generally remained the same, promoting stable coexistence. Polymer length was found to be a contributing factor for glycan utilization, thereby affecting its place in the hierarchy. Our findings not only elucidate how B. ovatus and B. thetaiotaomicron strategically access glycans to maintain coexistence but also support the prioritization of carbohydrate utilization based on carbohydrate structure, advancing our understanding of the relationships between diet and the gut microbiome.IMPORTANCE The microorganisms that reside in the human colon fulfill their energy requirements mainly from diet- and host-derived complex carbohydrates. Members of this ecosystem possess poorly understood strategies to prioritize and compete for these nutrients. Based on direct carbohydrate measurements and corresponding transcriptional analyses, our findings showed that individual bacterial species exhibit different preferences for the same set of glycans and that this prioritization is maintained in a competitive environment, which may promote stable coexistence. Such understanding of gut bacterial glycan utilization will be essential to eliciting predictable changes in the gut microbiota to improve health through the diet.

The Critical Roles of Polysaccharides in Gut Microbial Ecology and Physiology

The human intestine harbors a dense microbial ecosystem (microbiota) that is different between individuals, dynamic over time, and critical for aspects of health and disease. Dietary polysaccharides directly shape the microbiota because of a gap in human digestive physiology, which is equipped to assimilate only proteins, lipids, simple sugars, and starch, leaving nonstarch polysaccharides as major nutrients reaching the microbiota. A mutualistic role of gut microbes is to digest dietary complex carbohydrates, liberating host-absorbable energy via fermentation products. Emerging data indicate that polysaccharides play extensive roles in host-gut microbiota symbiosis beyond dietary polysaccharide digestion, including microbial interactions with endogenous host glycans and the importance of microbial polysaccharides. In this review, we consider multiple mechanisms through which polysaccharides mediate aspects of host-microbe symbiosis in the gut, including some affecting health. As host and microbial metabolic pathways are intimately connected with diet, we highlight the potential to manipulate this system for health.

Polysaccharide Utilization Loci: Fueling Microbial Communities

The complex carbohydrates of terrestrial and marine biomass represent a rich nutrient source for free-living and mutualistic microbes alike. The enzymatic saccharification of these diverse substrates is of critical importance for fueling a variety of complex microbial communities, including marine, soil, ruminant, and monogastric microbiota. Consequently, highly specific carbohydrate-active enzymes, recognition proteins, and transporters are enriched in the genomes of certain species and are of critical importance in competitive environments. In Bacteroidetes bacteria, these systems are organized as polysaccharide utilization loci (PULs), which are strictly regulated, colocalized gene clusters that encode enzyme and protein ensembles required for the saccharification of complex carbohydrates. This review provides historical perspectives and summarizes key findings in the study of these systems, highlighting a critical shift from sequence-based PUL discovery to systems-based analyses combining reverse genetics, biochemistry, enzymology, and structural biology to precisely illuminate the molecular mechanisms underpinning PUL function. The ecological implications of dynamic PUL deployment by key species in the human gastrointestinal tract are explored, as well as the wider distribution of these systems in other gut, terrestrial, and marine environments.