ArticleNature2014
A discrete genetic locus confers xyloglucan metabolism in select human gut Bacteroidetes.
Article in Nature, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 240 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
240 citing papers in PubMed, 509 citations in OpenAlex.
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- Strategies for GH functional annotation: toward harmonized and predictive CAZymology.Biotechnology for biofuels and bioproducts · 2026Article
- A system for transferring large genetic loci inApplied and environmental microbiology · 2026Article
- Reverse prediction of carbohydrate esterase polysaccharide targets.Biotechnology for biofuels and bioproducts · 2026Article
- Distribution of microbial carrageenan foraging pathways reveals a widespread latent trait within the ruminant intestinal microbiome.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Exploring the significance of resistant starch in ready-to-eat meals for enhanced functioning of gut microbiota: a comprehensive review.Food science and biotechnology · 2026Review
- A Hadza-enrichedGut microbes reports · 2026Article
- Integrated transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses reveal biphasic thermal adaptation strategies inPeerJ · 2026Article
- Structural insights into xyloglucan recognition by an ABC transporter from a Gram-positive, thermophilic bacterium.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- A commensal bacterium secretes effector proteins to establish population heterogeneity in the gut.Cell host & microbe · 2025Article
- Glycoside hydrolase-mediated glucomannan catabolism inProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- Carbohydrates and the oxidative branch of the pentose phosphate pathway modifyJournal of bacteriology · 2025Article
- Artificial cellulose derivatives are metabolized by select human gut Bacteroidota upon priming with common plant β-glucans.Journal of bacteriology · 2025Article
180 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
17 authors at 5 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
Abstract
A well-balanced human diet includes a significant intake of non-starch polysaccharides, collectively termed 'dietary fibre', from the cell walls of diverse fruits and vegetables. Owing to the paucity of alimentary enzymes encoded by the human genome, our ability to derive energy from dietary fibre depends on the saccharification and fermentation of complex carbohydrates by the massive microbial community residing in our distal gut. The xyloglucans (XyGs) are a ubiquitous family of highly branched plant cell wall polysaccharides whose mechanism(s) of degradation in the human gut and consequent importance in nutrition have been unclear. Here we demonstrate that a single, complex gene locus in Bacteroides ovatus confers XyG catabolism in this common colonic symbiont. Through targeted gene disruption, biochemical analysis of all predicted glycoside hydrolases and carbohydrate-binding proteins, and three-dimensional structural determination of the vanguard endo-xyloglucanase, we reveal the molecular mechanisms through which XyGs are hydrolysed to component monosaccharides for further metabolism. We also observe that orthologous XyG utilization loci (XyGULs) serve as genetic markers of XyG catabolism in Bacteroidetes, that XyGULs are restricted to a limited number of phylogenetically diverse strains, and that XyGULs are ubiquitous in surveyed human metagenomes. Our findings reveal that the metabolism of even highly abundant components of dietary fibre may be mediated by niche species, which has immediate fundamental and practical implications for gut symbiont population ecology in the context of human diet, nutrition and health.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.