ArticleNature communications2018
Molecular basis of an agarose metabolic pathway acquired by a human intestinal symbiont.
Article in Nature communications, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 55 papers.
What it found
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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.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
55 citing papers in PubMed, 111 citations in OpenAlex.
- Review
- Alginate foraging is conserved in geographically and taxonomically distinct ruminant microbiomes.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Agaro-Oligosaccharide Supplementation Alters the Gut Microbiota, Revealing Potential Agaro-Oligosaccharide-Utilizing Taxa in Healthy Japanese Adults.Biomedicines · 2026Article
- Distribution of microbial carrageenan foraging pathways reveals a widespread latent trait within the ruminant intestinal microbiome.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Seaweed sulfated polysaccharides regulate the gut microbiota-mucosal barrier-innate immunity axis: structural heterogeneity, immunological evidence, and translational prospects.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Structure-function relationship of the GH168 fucanase reveals an unusual enzyme recognition mechanism for sulfated polysaccharide.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Mining Arylsulfatase from Genome-Scale Metabolic Pathways of Pseudoalteromonas sp. SR43-6 and Its Agar-Based Desulfurization Applications.ACS omega · 2025Article
- Complete xylan utilization pathway and regulation mechanisms involved in marine algae degradation by cosmopolitan marine and human gut microbiota.The ISME journal · 2025Article
- Recent advances in natural polysaccharides for type 2 diabetes management: sources, structural characteristics, and mechanistic insights.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Review
- Article
- Mechanisms of recalcitrant fucoidan breakdown in marine Planctomycetota.Nature communications · 2024Article
- Understanding the gut microbiota by considering human evolution: a story of fire, cereals, cooking, molecular ingenuity, and functional cooperation.Microbiology and molecular biology reviews : MMBR · 2024Review
- Comprehensive analyses of a large human gut Bacteroidales culture collection reveal species and strain level diversity and evolution.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2024Article
- Genome sequences of four agarolytic bacteria from the Bacteroidia and Gammaproteobacteria.Microbiology resource announcements · 2023Article
- The Crystal Structure of Tyrosinase fromBiomolecules · 2023Article
- Utilization of dietary mixed-linkage β-glucans by the Firmicute Blautia producta.The Journal of biological chemistry · 2023Article
- Agarolytic Pathway in the Newly Isolated Aquimarina sp. Bacterial Strain ERC-38 and Characterization of a Putative β-agarase.Marine biotechnology (New York, N.Y.) · 2023Article
- Review
- Carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes) in the gut microbiome.Nature reviews. Microbiology · 2022Review
- Data collection from crystals grown in microfluidic droplets.Acta crystallographica. Section D, Structural biology · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
14 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
In red algae, the most abundant principal cell wall polysaccharides are mixed galactan agars, of which agarose is a common component. While bioconversion of agarose is predominantly catalyzed by bacteria that live in the oceans, agarases have been discovered in microorganisms that inhabit diverse terrestrial ecosystems, including human intestines. Here we comprehensively define the structure-function relationship of the agarolytic pathway from the human intestinal bacterium Bacteroides uniformis (Bu) NP1. Using recombinant agarases from Bu NP1 to completely depolymerize agarose, we demonstrate that a non-agarolytic Bu strain can grow on GAL released from agarose. This relationship underscores that rare nutrient utilization by intestinal bacteria is facilitated by the acquisition of highly specific enzymes that unlock inaccessible carbohydrate resources contained within unusual polysaccharides. Intriguingly, the agarolytic pathway is differentially distributed throughout geographically distinct human microbiomes, reflecting a complex historical context for agarose consumption by human beings.
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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.