{"doi":"10.1016/j.jbc.2024.107625","title":"The molecular basis of cereal mixed-linkage β-glucan utilization by the human gut bacterium Segatella copri","abstract":"Mixed-linkage β(1,3)/β(1,4)-glucan (MLG) is abundant in the human diet through the ingestion of cereal grains and is widely associated with healthful effects on metabolism and cholesterol levels. MLG is also a major source of fermentable glucose for the human gut microbiota (HGM). Bacteria from the family Prevotellaceae are highly represented in the HGM of individuals who eat plant-rich diets, including certain indigenous people and vegetarians in postindustrial societies. Here, we have defined and functionally characterized an exemplar Prevotellaceae MLG polysaccharide utilization locus (MLG-PUL) in the type-strain Segatella copri (syn. Prevotella copri) DSM 18205 through transcriptomic, biochemical, and structural biological approaches. In particular, structure-function analysis of the cell-surface glycan-binding proteins and glycoside hydrolases of the S. copri MLG-PUL revealed the molecular basis for glycan capture and saccharification. Notably, syntenic MLG-PULs from human gut, human oral, and ruminant gut Prevotellaceae are distinguished from their counterparts in Bacteroidaceae by the presence of a β(1,3)-specific endo-glucanase from glycoside hydrolase family 5, subfamily 4 (GH5_4) that initiates MLG backbone cleavage. The definition of a family of homologous MLG-PULs in individual species enabled a survey of nearly 2000 human fecal microbiomes using these genes as molecular markers, which revealed global population-specific distributions of Bacteroidaceae- and Prevotellaceae-mediated MLG utilization. Altogether, the data presented here provide new insight into the molecular basis of β-glucan metabolism in the HGM, as a basis for informing the development of approaches to improve the nutrition and health of humans and other animals.","journal":"Journal of Biological Chemistry","year":2024,"id":440928,"datarank":0.36701068862213015,"base_score":2.302585092994046,"endowment":2.302585092994046,"self_citation_contribution":0.3453877639491069,"citation_network_contribution":0.02162292467302321,"self_endowment_contribution":0.3453877639491069,"citer_contribution":0.02162292467302321,"corpus_percentile":null,"corpus_rank":null,"citation_count":9,"citer_count":7,"citers_with_citation_signal":2,"citers_with_endowment":2,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"is_dataset":false,"is_dataset_confidence":0.9604,"is_data_producer":true,"deposit_databanks":{"BioProject":["PRJNA1073563"],"PDB":["9BAM","9BAL","9BJX","9BMK"]},"is_oa":true,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"has_version_chain":false,"published_date":"2024-01-01","fair_score":null,"fair_percentile":null,"algorithm_id":"datarank_citation_only_1hop_v6","ranking_scope":"data_only","authors":[{"id":896198,"name":"R.L. Cordeiro","orcid":"0000-0002-8827-8116","position":1,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1252885,"name":"Alexander S. C. Fraser","orcid":"0009-0003-2253-7706","position":2,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1252886,"name":"Jonathon A. Briggs","orcid":"0000-0003-4181-2809","position":3,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1252887,"name":"William A. Stewart","orcid":"0000-0001-5358-9005","position":4,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":288323,"name":"Filip Van Petegem","orcid":"0000-0003-2728-8537","position":5,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":288324,"name":"Harry Brumer","orcid":"0000-0002-0101-862X","position":6,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1253378,"name":"Benedikt Golisch","orcid":null,"position":0,"is_corresponding":true}],"reference_count":99,"raw_metadata":null,"created_at":"2026-07-19T02:01:01.842286Z","pmid":"39122003","pmcid":null,"fwci":null,"citation_percentile":null,"influential_citations":0,"oa_status":null,"license":null,"views":0,"total_file_size_bytes":0,"version_count":0,"fair_f":null,"fair_a":null,"fair_i":null,"fair_r":null,"fair_zscore":null,"fair_rationale":null,"fair_model":null,"fair_agent_version":null,"fair_fulltext_source":null,"fair_has_llm":null,"fair_computed_at":null,"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"db_accessions":[],"linked_datasets":[],"topics":[]}