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Metabolic functions of the human gut microbiota: the role of metalloenzymes

The human body is composed of an equal number of human and microbial cells. While the microbial community inhabiting the human gastrointestinal tract plays an essential role in host health, these organisms have also been connected to various diseases. Yet, the gut microbial functions that modulate h...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Rajakovich, Lauren J., Balskus *, Emily P.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: The Royal Society of Chemistry 2018
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7771511/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30452039
http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/c8np00074c
Descripción
Sumario:The human body is composed of an equal number of human and microbial cells. While the microbial community inhabiting the human gastrointestinal tract plays an essential role in host health, these organisms have also been connected to various diseases. Yet, the gut microbial functions that modulate host biology are not well established. In this review, we describe metabolic functions of the human gut microbiota that involve metalloenzymes. These activities enable gut microbial colonization, mediate interactions with the host, and impact human health and disease. We highlight cases in which enzyme characterization has advanced our understanding of the gut microbiota and examples that illustrate the diverse ways in which metalloenzymes facilitate both essential and unique functions of this community. Finally, we analyze Human Microbiome Project sequencing datasets to assess the distribution of a prominent family of metalloenzymes in human-associated microbial communities, guiding future enzyme characterization efforts.