Selective utilization of medicinal polysaccharides by human gut Bacteroides and Parabacteroides species

• Published in: Nature communications 2025-01, Vol.16 (1), p.638, Article 638
• Main Authors: Qu, Zepeng, Liu, Hongbin, Yang, Ji, Zheng, Linggang, Huang, Jumin, Wang, Ziming, Xie, Chun, Zuo, Wenlong, Xia, Xiong, Sun, Lin, Zhou, Yifa, Xie, Ying, Lu, Jingguang, Zhu, Yizhun, Yu, Lili, Liu, Lihua, Zhou, Hua, Dai, Lei, Leung, Elaine Lai-Han
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 38/23; 38/39; 38/79; 42/44; 42/70; 45; 45/77; 45/91; 631/326/2565/2134; 631/326/325; 631/92/72/1205; 82/80; Bacteria; Bacteroides; Carbohydrates; Dendrobium; Enzymes; Genomics; Humanities and Social Sciences; Intestinal microflora; Mannan; Medicinal plants; Microbiomes; Monosaccharides; multidisciplinary; Parabacteroides; Polysaccharides; Saccharides; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Species; Transcriptomics; Utilization; Variation
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-55845-7

Human gut Bacteroides and Parabacteroides species play crucial roles in human health and are known for their capacity to utilize diverse polysaccharides. Understanding how these bacteria utilize medicinal polysaccharides is foundational for developing polysaccharides-based prebiotics and drugs. Here, we systematically mapped the utilization profiles of 20 different medicinal polysaccharides by 28 human gut Bacteroides and Parabacteroides species. The growth profiles exhibited substantial variation across different bacterial species and medicinal polysaccharides. Ginseng polysaccharides promoted the growth of multiple Bacteroides and Parabacteroides species; in contrast, Dendrobium polysaccharides selectively promoted the growth of Bacteroides uniformis . This distinct utilization profile was associated with genomic variation in carbohydrate-active enzymes, rather than monosaccharides composition variation among medicinal polysaccharides. Through comparative transcriptomics and genetical manipulation, we validated that the polysaccharide utilization locus PUL34_ Bu enabled Bacteroides uniformis to utilize Dendrobium polysaccharides (i.e. glucomannan). In addition, we found that the GH26 enzyme in PUL34_ Bu allowed Bacteroides uniformis to utilize multiple plant-derived mannan. Overall, our results revealed the selective utilization of medicinal polysaccharide by Bacteroides and Parabacteroides species and provided insights into the use of polysaccharides in engineering the human gut microbiome. Here, the authors characterize the utilization of 20 medicinal polysaccharides by 28 human gut Bacteroides and Parabacteroides species, revealing substantial variability in bacterial growth responses, which they link to genomic differences in carbohydrate-active enzymes.