A Novel Family of RNA-Binding Proteins Regulate Polysaccharide Metabolism in <i>Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron</i>
Amanda N. D. Adams, Muhammad S. Azam, Zachary A. Costliow, Xiangqian Ma, Patrick H. Degnan, Carin K. Vanderpool
Abstract
The human colon houses hundreds of bacterial species, including many belonging to the genus Bacteroides , that aid in breaking down our food to keep us healthy. Bacteroides have many genes responsible for breaking down different dietary carbohydrates and complex regulatory mechanisms ensure that specific genes are only expressed when the right carbohydrates are available. In this study, we discovered that Bacteroides use a family of RNA-binding proteins as global regulators to coordinate expression of carbohydrate utilization genes.
Topics & Concepts
Bacteroides thetaiotaomicronBiologyBacteroidesGeneRNABacteroidaceaeRNA-binding proteinBacteroides fragilisMicrobiologyGeneticsBiochemistryBacteriaGenomics and Phylogenetic StudiesMicrobial Metabolic Engineering and BioproductionMicrobial Metabolites in Food Biotechnology