title: Metabolism of sialic acid by Bifidobacterium breve UCC2003.
abstract: Bifidobacteria constitute a specific group of commensal bacteria that inhabit the gastrointestinal tracts of humans and other mammals. Bifidobacterium breve UCC2003 has previously been shown to utilize several plant-derived carbohydrates that include cellodextrins, starch, and galactan. In the present study, we investigated the ability of this strain to utilize the mucin- and human milk oligosaccharide (HMO)-derived carbohydrate sialic acid. Using a combination of transcriptomic and functional genomic approaches, we identified a gene cluster dedicated to the uptake and metabolism of sialic acid. Furthermore, we demonstrate that B. breve UCC2003 can cross feed on sialic acid derived from the metabolism of 3'-sialyllactose, an abundant HMO, by another infant gut bifidobacterial strain, Bifidobacterium bifidum PRL2010.
authors.affiliation: School of Microbiology and Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.
authors.forename: Muireann
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Egan
authors.affiliation: School of Microbiology and Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: O'Connell Motherway
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Probiogenomics, Department of Life Sciences, University of Parma, Parma, Italy.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ventura
authors.affiliation: School of Microbiology and Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland d.vansinderen@ucc.ie.
authors.forename: Douwe
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: van Sinderen
mesh_terms: D001644:Bifidobacterium / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D003470:Culture Media; D053938:DNA Fragmentation; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D005810:Multigene Family; D019158:N-Acetylneuraminic Acid / Q000378:metabolism*; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D010957:Plasmids / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D003470:Culture Media; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D019158:N-Acetylneuraminic Acid