Ana S Luis, Chunsheng Jin, Gabriel Vasconcelos Pereira, Robert W P Glowacki, Sadie R Gugel, Shaleni Singh, Dominic P Byrne, Nicholas A Pudlo, James A London, Arnaud Baslé, Mark Reihill, Stefan Oscarson, Patrick A Eyers, Mirjam Czjzek, Gurvan Michel, Tristan Barbeyron, Edwin A Yates, Gunnar C Hansson, Niclas G Karlsson, Alan Cartmell, Eric C Martens
Humans have co-evolved with a dense community of microbial symbionts that inhabit the lower intestine. In the colon, secreted mucus creates a barrier that separates these microorganisms from the intestinal epithelium1 . Some gut bacteria are able to utilize mucin glycoproteins, the main mucus component, as a nutrient source. However, it remains unclear which bacterial enzymes initiate degradation of the complex O-glycans found in mucins. In the distal colon, these glycans are heavily sulfated, but specific sulfatases that are active on colonic mucins have not been identified...
October 2021: Nature