An evolutionarily distinct family of polysaccharide lyases removes rhamnose capping of complex arabinogalactan proteins.

ABSTRACT: The human gut microbiota utilizes complex carbohydrates as major nutrients. The requirement for efficient glycan degrading systems exerts a major selection pressure on this microbial community. Thus, we propose that this microbial ecosystem represents a substantial resource for discovering novel carbohydrate active enzymes. To test this hypothesis we screened the potential enzymatic functions of hypothetical proteins encoded by genes of Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron that were up-regulated by arabinogalactan proteins or AGPs. Although AGPs are ubiquitous in plants, there is a paucity of information on their detailed structure, the function of these glycans in planta, and the mechanisms by which they are depolymerized in microbial ecosystems. Here we have discovered a new polysa

SUBMITTER: Munoz-Munoz J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5555188 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature