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An In Vitro Batch-culture Model to Estimate the Effects of Interventional Regimens on Human Fecal Microbiota
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Published on: July 31, 2019

Complex carbohydrate utilization by the healthy human microbiome.

Brandi L Cantarel1, Vincent Lombard, Bernard Henrissat

  • 1Institute for Genome Sciences, University of Maryland, School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America. bcantarel@som.umaryland.edu

Plos One
|June 22, 2012
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Human body site carbohydrate composition shapes microbial communities and their enzymes. Bacterial families, not body sites, determine sugar degradation potential, but functional enzyme profiles are site-specific, reflecting adaptation.

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Area of Science:

  • Microbiome Research
  • Human Ecology
  • Metagenomics

Background:

  • The human body hosts diverse microbial communities with varied nutrient sources and challenges.
  • DNA sequencing advances offer deeper insights into human microbiota molecular functions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes) in the human microbiome.
  • To determine if CAZyme profiles align more with bacterial families or body sites.
  • To assess microbial sugar degradation and utilization across human habitats.

Main Methods:

  • Analyzed 493 bacterial reference genomes from 12 human habitats.
  • Examined 520 metagenomic samples from five major human body sites.
  • Compared CAZyme profiles and sugar degradation capabilities.

Main Results:

  • Sugar degradation capabilities are more similar within bacterial families than body sites.
  • CAZyme profiles are highly similar within body sites, despite varying community composition.
  • The gastrointestinal tract shows the highest potential for sugar degradation; oral and vaginal sites lead in dextran and peptidoglycan degradation, respectively.

Conclusions:

  • Body site carbohydrate composition significantly influences microbiome community structure and CAZyme profiles.
  • Microbial communities adapt their functional capabilities to the local carbohydrate environment.
  • CAZyme profiles reflect microbiome fitness and adaptation to specific human body sites.