ArticleNature microbiology2019
Elucidation of a sialic acid metabolism pathway in mucus-foraging Ruminococcus gnavus unravels mechanisms of bacterial adaptation to the gut.
Article in Nature microbiology, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 88 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
88 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 132 citations in OpenAlex.
- Changes in Gut Microbiota and Multiple Sclerosis: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Pooled it
- Exploring species-level infant gut bacterial biodiversity by meta-analysis and formulation of an optimized cultivation medium.NPJ biofilms and microbiomes · 2022Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Glycosylation in gut-brain communication: from the intestinal barrier and microbiota to immune and neural signaling.Gut microbes · 2026Review
- Mucin-degrading gut bacteria: context-dependent roles in intestinal homeostasis and disease.Gut microbes · 2026Review
- Diet-Microbiome-Immune Interactions at the Gut Mucosa in Food Allergy: Mechanisms, Gaps, and Therapeutic Implications.Allergy · 2026Review
- Review
- Extensive library ofMicrobiology spectrum · 2026Article
- Structural studies and functional engineering of NanX: an anhydro-sialic acid transporter from Escherichia coli.FEBS open bio · 2026Article
- Dual human milk oligosaccharide-fibre utilisation is a selection cue for the weaning gut microbiome.Nature communications · 2026Observational
- A bidirectionalbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Mucin Type Drives Composition and Mucin Glycan Degradation of an In Vitro Synthetic Microbial Community.Environmental microbiology · 2026Article
- A genetic toolkit for the human gut bacterium Mediterraneibacter gnavus identifies capsular polysaccharides as a competitive colonization factor.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Infant gut microbiota coverage by different culture media.BMC microbiology · 2026Article
- Disrupted gut microbiome networks and unhealthy behaviors predict metabolic dysfunction in children and adolescents in the long term.iScience · 2026Article
- Mucosa-associated bacteria and metabolites in inflammatory bowel disease: from inside to insight.NPJ biofilms and microbiomes · 2026Review
- Context-dependent roles of the gut microbiome in food allergy tolerance versus sensitization.Gut microbes · 2025Review
- Metatranscriptomic-driven insights into mucosal glycan degradation by the human gut microbiota.FEMS microbiology ecology · 2025Article
- Microbiota and short chain fatty acid relationships underlie clinical heterogeneity and identify key microbial targets in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Multi-Omics Analysis of Ileal Mucosa and Mesentery Before and After Ileocecal Resection in Crohn's Disease.United European gastroenterology journal · 2025Article
28 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
15 authors at 7 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Sialic acid (N-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Ac)) is commonly found in the terminal location of colonic mucin glycans where it is a much-coveted nutrient for gut bacteria, including Ruminococcus gnavus. R. gnavus is part of the healthy gut microbiota in humans, but it is disproportionately represented in diseases. There is therefore a need to understand the molecular mechanisms that underpin the adaptation of R. gnavus to the gut. Previous in vitro research has demonstrated that the mucin-glycan-foraging strategy of R. gnavus is strain dependent and is associated with the expression of an intramolecular trans-sialidase, which releases 2,7-anhydro-Neu5Ac, rather than Neu5Ac, from mucins. Here, we unravelled the metabolism pathway of 2,7-anhydro-Neu5Ac in R. gnavus that is underpinned by the exquisite specificity of the sialic transporter for 2,7-anhydro-Neu5Ac and by the action of an oxidoreductase that converts 2,7-anhydro-Neu5Ac into Neu5Ac, which then becomes a substrate of a Neu5Ac-specific aldolase. Having generated an R. gnavus nan-cluster deletion mutant that lost the ability to grow on sialylated substrates, we showed that-in gnotobiotic mice colonized with R. gnavus wild-type (WT) and mutant strains-the fitness of the nan mutant was significantly impaired, with a reduced ability to colonize the mucus layer. Overall, we revealed a unique sialic acid pathway in bacteria that has important implications for the spatial adaptation of mucin-foraging gut symbionts in health and disease.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.