Functional dissection of the phosphotransferase system provides insight into the prevalence of Faecalibacterium prausnitzii in the host intestinal environment

Abstract

Summary Faecalibacterium prausnitzii is a dominant member of healthy human colon microbiota, regarded as a beneficial gut bacterium due to its ability to produce anti‐inflammatory substances. However, little is known about how F. prausnitzii utilizes the nutrients present in the human gut, influencing its prevalence in the host intestinal environment. The phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP):carbohydrate phosphotransferase system (PTS) is a widely distributed and highly efficient carbohydrate transport system found in most bacterial species that catalyses the simultaneous phosphorylation and import of cognate carbohydrates; its components play physiological roles through interaction with other regulatory proteins. Here, we performed a systematic analysis of the 16 genes encoding putative PTS components (2 enzyme I, 2 HPr, and 12 enzyme II components) in F. prausnitzii A2‐165. We identified the general PTS components responsible for the PEP‐dependent phosphotransfer reaction and the sugar‐specific PTS components involved in the transport of two carbohydrates, N‐acetylglucosamine and fructose, among five enzyme II complexes. We suggest that the dissection of the functional PTS in F. prausnitzii may help to understand how this species outcompetes other bacterial species in the human intestine.

An Integrative Multiomics Approach to Characterize Prebiotic Inulin Effects on Faecalibacterium prausnitzii

“…We confirmed that the putative PTS transporter was upregulated 35-fold in F. prausnitzii grown on inulin (Figure 6B). A BLAST search confirmed that this transporter responds specifically to fructose; a recent study has reported that a fructose-specific PTS transporter participates in the intracellular transport of fructose and is induced when F. prausnitzii is grown in the presence of fructose (Supplementary Table S7) (Kang et al, 2021). In addition, proteomic data confirmed that the transcriptional regulator and 1-phosphofructokinase encoded by the gene adjacent to the gene of the fructose PTS transporter were upregulated (Figure 6B).…”

“…In addition, proteomic data confirmed that the transcriptional regulator and 1-phosphofructokinase encoded by the gene adjacent to the gene of the fructose PTS transporter were upregulated (Figure 6B). Because the PTS transporter transports sugar into the cell and simultaneously phosphorylates it, F. prausnitzii is expected to take up fructose into the cell through the fructose PTS transporter and phosphorylate it to fructose 1-phosphate, which is subsequently converted into fructose 1,6-bisphosphate by 1phosphofructokinase and enters the glycolytic pathway (Kang et al, 2021). To explore the activity of the fructose PTS transporter, we compared the growth ability of F. prausnitzii on glucose, fructose, sucrose, and inulin produced during the digestion process of inulin (Figure 7A).…”

Ribosomally synthesized peptides, foreground players in microbial interactions: recent developments and unanswered questions

“…(viii) Currently known targets of bacteriocins, such as the Man-PTS system used by several bacteriocins from different genera, to understand how a given system can be both a target to outcompete pathogens as seen in the review, and a mean for a commensal to better colonize a niche, as recently found for Faecalibacterium prausnitzi , one of the star bacteria from a healthy human colon. 275…”

Enhancing Metabolic Efficiency through Optimizing Metabolizable Protein Profile in a Time Progressive Manner with Weaned Goats as a Model: Involvement of Gut Microbiota

“…In agreement with previous studies in dairy calves ( 15 ), our results also observed a remarkable reduction in several inferred KEGG pathways associated with carbohydrate metabolism in the feces microbiome as weaned goats aged, conducive to the shift in nutrient metabolism. Given that the gut microbiota relies on the phosphotransferase system (PTS) to efficiently import cognate carbohydrates into cells ( 43 ), a drastic decrease in the PTS pathway was thus noted as goats aged. Considering that several pathways related to lipid and AA metabolism also changed with age, we can propose that gut bacteria can integrate their nutritional status with diverse environmental stimuli ( 15 , 43 ).…”

“…Given that the gut microbiota relies on the phosphotransferase system (PTS) to efficiently import cognate carbohydrates into cells ( 43 ), a drastic decrease in the PTS pathway was thus noted as goats aged. Considering that several pathways related to lipid and AA metabolism also changed with age, we can propose that gut bacteria can integrate their nutritional status with diverse environmental stimuli ( 15 , 43 ). Concurrently, it is further recapitulated that three pathways conducive to cell motility showed sequential progression in response to weaning.…”