scholarly journals An Efficient System for Intestinal On-site Butyrate Production Using Novel Microbiome-Derived Esterases

Author(s):  
Dah Hyun Jung ◽  
Ji Hyun Yong ◽  
Wontae Hwang ◽  
Mi Young Yoon ◽  
Sang Sun Yoon

Abstract Short-chain fatty acids, especially butyrate, play beneficial roles in sustaining gastrointestinal health. However, due to limitations associated with direct consumption of butyrate, there has been interest in using prodrugs of butyrate. Tributyrin (TB), a triglyceride composed of three butyrate molecules and a glycerol, is a well-studied precursor of butyrate. We screened a metagenome library consisting of 5,760 bacterial artificial chromosome clones, with DNA inserts originating from mouse microbiomes, and identified two clones that efficiently hydrolyse TB into butyrate. Nucleotide sequence analysis indicated that inserts in these two clones are derived from unknown microbes. BLASTp analysis, however, revealed that each insert contains a gene homologous to acetylesterase or esterase genes, from Clostridium spp. and Bacteroides spp., respectively. Predicted structures of these two proteins both contain serine-histidine-aspartate catalytic triad, highly conserved in the family of esterases. Escherichia coli host expressing each of the two candidate genes invariably produced greater amounts of butyrate in the presence of TB. Importantly, administration of TB together with cloned Escherichia coli cells alleviated inflammatory symptoms in a mouse model of acute colitis. Based on these results, we established an efficient on-site and real-time butyrate production system that releases butyrate in a controlled manner inside the intestine

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dah Hyun Jung ◽  
Ji Hyun Yong ◽  
Wontae Hwang ◽  
Sang Sun Yoon

Abstract Short-chain fatty acids, especially butyrate, play beneficial roles in sustaining gastrointestinal health. However, due to limitations associated with direct consumption of butyrate, there has been interest in using prodrugs of butyrate. Tributyrin (TB), a triglyceride composed of three butyrate molecules and a glycerol, is a well-studied precursor of butyrate. We screened a metagenome library consisting of 5,760 bacterial artificial chromosome clones, with DNA inserts originating from mouse microbiomes, and identified two clones that efficiently hydrolyse TB into butyrate. Nucleotide sequence analysis indicated that inserts in these two clones are derived from unknown microbes. BLASTp analysis, however, revealed that each insert contains a gene homologous to acetylesterase or esterase genes, from Clostridium spp. and Bacteroides spp., respectively. Predicted structures of these two proteins both contain serine-histidine-aspartate catalytic triad, highly conserved in the family of esterases. Escherichia coli host expressing each of the two candidate genes invariably produced greater amounts of butyrate in the presence of TB. Importantly, administration of TB together with cloned Escherichia coli cells alleviated inflammatory symptoms in a mouse model of acute colitis. Based on these results, we established an efficient on-site and real-time butyrate production system that releases butyrate in a controlled manner inside the intestine.


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dah Hyun Jung ◽  
Ji Hyun Yong ◽  
Wontae Hwang ◽  
Mi Young Yoon ◽  
Sang Sun Yoon

AbstractShort-chain fatty acids, especially butyrate, play beneficial roles in sustaining gastrointestinal health. However, due to limitations associated with direct consumption of butyrate, there has been interest in using prodrugs of butyrate. Tributyrin (TB), a triglyceride composed of three butyrate molecules and a glycerol, is a well-studied precursor of butyrate. We screened a metagenome library consisting of 5760 bacterial artificial chromosome clones, with DNA inserts originating from mouse microbiomes, and identified two clones that efficiently hydrolyse TB into butyrate. Nucleotide sequence analysis indicated that inserts in these two clones are derived from unknown microbes. BLASTp analysis, however, revealed that each insert contains a gene homologous to acetylesterase or esterase genes, from Clostridium spp. and Bacteroides spp., respectively. Predicted structures of these two proteins both contain serine-histidine-aspartate catalytic triad, highly conserved in the family of esterases. Escherichia coli host expressing each of the two candidate genes invariably produced greater amounts of butyrate in the presence of TB. Importantly, administration of TB together with cloned E. coli cells alleviated inflammatory symptoms in a mouse model of acute colitis. Based on these results, we established an efficient on-site and real-time butyrate production system that releases butyrate in a controlled manner inside the intestine.


2001 ◽  
Vol 86 (2) ◽  
pp. 291-300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brigitta Kleessen ◽  
Ludger Hartmann ◽  
Michael Blaut

Dietary incorporation of fermentable, indigestible fructans may be of benefit to gastrointestinal health by providing short-chain fatty acids, stimulating the proliferation of bifidobacteria or lactobacilli and suppressing potential pathogenic organisms in the gut. We tested the hypothesis that the effects of fructans on caecal, colonic and faecal short-chain fatty acid concentration and microflora composition depend on their chain length. Germ-free rats associated with a human faecal flora were randomly assigned to one of four treatments as follows: (1) commercial standard diet as a control (Con); (2) Con+50 g short-chain oligofructose/kg (OF); (3) C+50 g long-chain inulin/kg (lcIN); or (4) Con+50 g OF–lcIN/kg (Mix OF–lcIN). Changes in bacterial population groups in response to feeding these diets were investigated with 16S rRNA-targeted probes applied inin situhybridization. Mix OF–lcIN- and lcIN-containing diets resulted in larger numbers of caecal, colonic and faecal bacteria of theClostridium coccoides–Eubacterium rectalecluster than Con (10·6 and 10·3v.9·5 log10/g wet wt), whereas OF alone did not affect this bacterial group in caecum, colon or faeces. A bifidogenic effect was only observed in the colon and faeces of OF-treated rats. More lactobacilli were found in caecal and colonic contents of Mix OF–lcIN-fed rats and in faeces of OF-fed rats compared with Con. Mix OF–lcIN and OF led to significantly smaller numbers of caecal, colonic and faecal bacteria belonging to theClostridium histolyticumandC. lituseburensegroups than Con (6·8 and 6·9v.7·9 log10/g wet wt). Counts of total bacteria,Bacteroides–PrevotellaandEnterobacteriaceaedid not differ between the groups. OF and/or lcIN-containing diets significantly increased the caecal and colonic concentration of butyrate and its relative molar proportion. Only lcIN-containing diets resulted in a higher faecal concentration of butyrate than Con. Higher molar proportions of faecal butyrate were observed with all diets that had been supplemented with OF and/or lcIN. Stimulation of butyrate production could be of interest for the prevention of ulcerative colitis and colon cancer.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naoki Tsukuda ◽  
Kana Yahagi ◽  
Taeko Hara ◽  
Yohei Watanabe ◽  
Hoshitaka Matsumoto ◽  
...  

AbstractInfant gut microbiota development affects the host physiology throughout life, and short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) are promising key metabolites mediating microbiota-host relationships. Here, we investigated dense longitudinally collected faecal samples from 12 subjects during the first 2 years (n = 1048) to identify early life gut SCFA patterns and their relationships with the microbiota. Our results revealed three distinct phases of progression in the SCFA profiles: early phase characterised by low acetate and high succinate, middle-phase characterised by high lactate and formate and late-phase characterised by high propionate and butyrate. Assessment of the SCFA–microbiota relationships revealed that faecal butyrate is associated with increased Clostridiales and breastfeeding cessation, and that diverse and personalised assemblage of Clostridiales species possessing the acetyl-CoA pathway play major roles in gut butyrate production. We also found an association between gut formate and some infant-type bifidobacterial species, and that human milk oligosaccharides (HMO)-derived fucose is the substrate for formate production during breastfeeding. We identified genes upregulated in fucose and fucosylated HMO utilisation in infant-type bifidobacteria. Notably, bifidobacteria showed interspecific and intraspecific variation in the gene repertoires, and cross-feeding of fucose contributed to gut formate production. This study provides an insight into early life SCFA–microbiota relationships, which is an important step for developing strategies for modulating lifelong health.


1989 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 4777-4788 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Baer ◽  
G B Sancar

DNA photolyases catalyze the light-dependent repair of pyrimidine dimers in DNA. The results of nucleotide sequence analysis and spectroscopic studies demonstrated that photolyases from Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Escherichia coli share 37% amino acid sequence homology and contain identical chromophores. Do the similarities between these two enzymes extend to their interactions with DNA containing pyrimidine dimers, or does the organization of DNA into nucleosomes in S. cerevisiae necessitate alternative or additional recognition determinants? To answer this question, we used chemical and enzymatic techniques to identify the contacts made on DNA by S. cerevisiae photolyase when it is bound to a pyrimidine dimer and compared these contacts with those made by E. coli photolyase and by a truncated derivative of the yeast enzyme when bound to the same substrate. We found evidence for a common set of interactions between the photolyases and specific phosphates in the backbones of both strands as well as for interactions with bases in both the major and minor grooves of dimer-containing DNA. Superimposed on this common pattern were significant differences in the contributions of specific contacts to the overall binding energy, in the interactions of the enzymes with groups on the complementary strand, and in the extent to which other DNA-binding proteins were excluded from the region around the dimer. These results provide strong evidence both for a conserved dimer-binding motif and for the evolution of new interactions that permit photolyases to also act as accessory proteins in nucleotide excision repair. The locations of the specific contacts made by the yeast enzyme indicate that the mechanism of nucleotide excision repair in this organism involves incision(s) at a distance from the pyrimidine dimer.


1996 ◽  
Vol 316 (1) ◽  
pp. 251-257 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michinori MUTSUDA ◽  
Takahiro ISHIKAWA ◽  
Toru TAKEDA ◽  
Shigeru SHIGEOKA

Synechococcus PCC 7942, a cyanobacterium, possesses catalase–peroxidase as the sole hydrogen peroxide-scavenging system. The enzyme has been purified to electrophoretic homogenenity from the cells. The native enzyme had a molecular mass of 150 kDa and was composed of two identical subunits of molecular mass 79 kDa. The apparent Km value of the catalase activity for H2O2 was 4.2±0.27 mM and the kcat value was 2.6×104 s-1. The enzyme contained high catalase activity and an appreciable peroxidase activity with o-dianisidine and pyrogallol. The catalase activity was not inhibited by 3-amino-1,2,4-triazole but by KCN and NaN3 (apparent Ki values 19.3±0.84 and 20.2±0.95 μM respectively). The enzyme showed an absorption spectrum of typical protohaem and contained one protohaem molecule per dimer. The gene encoding catalase–peroxidase was cloned from the chromosomal DNA of Synechococcus PCC 7942. A 2160 bp open reading frame (ORF), coding a catalase–peroxidase of 720 amino acid residues (approx. 79.9 kDa), was observed. The deduced amino acid sequence coincided with that of the N-terminus of the purified enzyme and showed a remarkable similarity to those of a family of catalase–peroxidases of prokaryotic cells. Escherichia coli BL21(DE3)plysS, harbouring a recombinant plasmid containing the catalase–peroxidase gene, produced a large amount of proteins that co-migrated on SDS/PAGE with the native enzyme. The recombinant enzyme showed the same ratio of catalase activity to peroxidase activity with o-dianisidine and the same Km for H2O2 as the native enzyme.


1998 ◽  
Vol 42 (6) ◽  
pp. 1350-1354 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. D. D. Pitout ◽  
K. S. Thomson ◽  
N. D. Hanson ◽  
A. F. Ehrhardt ◽  
E. S. Moland ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Although resistance to the expanded-spectrum cephalosporins among members of the family Enterobacteriaceae lacking inducible β-lactamases occurs virtually worldwide, little is known about this problem among isolates recovered in South Africa. Isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, and Proteus mirabilis resistant to expanded-spectrum cephalosporins recovered from patients in various parts of South Africa over a 3-month period were investigated for extended-spectrum β-lactamase production. Antibiotic susceptibility was determined by standard disk diffusion and agar dilution procedures. Production of extended-spectrum β-lactamases was evaluated by using the double-disk test, and the β-lactamases were characterized by spectrophotometric hydrolysis assays and an isoelectric focusing overlay technique which simultaneously determined isoelectric points and general substrate or inhibitor characteristics. DNA amplification and sequencing were performed to confirm the identities of these enzymes. The P. mirabilis and E. coliisolates were found to produce TEM-26-type, SHV-2, and SHV-5 extended-spectrum β-lactamases. An AmpC-related enzyme which had a pI of 8.0 and which conferred resistance to cefoxitin as well as the expanded-spectrum cephalosporins was found in a strain of K. pneumoniae. This is the first study which has identified organisms producing different extended-spectrum β-lactamases from South Africa and the first report describing strains of P. mirabilis producing a TEM-26-type enzyme. The variety of extended-spectrum β-lactamases found among members of the familyEnterobacteriaceae isolated from major medical centers in South Africa is troubling and adds to the growing list of countries where these enzymes pose a serious problem for antimicrobial therapy.


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