Ability of bifidobacteria to metabolize chitin-glucan and its impact on the gut microbiota

Abstract

Chitin-glucan (CG) represents a natural carbohydrate source for certain microbial inhabitants of the human gut and may act as a prebiotic for a number of bacterial taxa. However, the bifidogenic activity of this substrate is still unknown. In the current study, we evaluated the ability of chitin-glucan to influence growth of 100 bifidobacterial strains belonging to those species commonly identified within the bifidobacterial communities residing in the infant and adult human gut. Such analyses were coupled with transcriptome experiments directed to explore the transcriptional effects of CG on Bifidobacterium breve 2L, which was shown to elicit the highest growth performance on this natural polysaccharide. In addition, an in vivo trial involving a rat model revealed how the colonization efficiency of this bifidobacterial strain was enhanced when the animals were fed with a diet containing CG. Altogether our analyses indicate that CG is a valuable novel prebiotic compound that may be added to the human diet in order to re-establish/reinforce bifidobacteria colonization in the mammalian gut.

Animal-Origin Prebiotics Based on Chitin: An Alternative for the Future? A Critical Review

“…With respect to chitin derivatives, GC has been indicated as a dietary supplement, with the maximum rate of consumption set at 5 g per day for an average person [58]. Furthermore, GC consumption has been shown to reduce body weight gain in rats, thus pointing to GC as an interesting novel prebiotic for the prevention and treatment of obesity [59].…”

Bifidobacterium bifidum: A Key Member of the Early Human Gut Microbiota

“…In recent years, several metagenomics as well as culture-dependent investigations of the human gut have allowed a detailed dissection of the bifidobacterial biodiversity that is present in this environment [6,7,14,15,16]. Notably, such analyses revealed that the most abundant and prevalent bifidobacterial taxa existing in the human colon are strains of B. breve, B. bifidum, B. longum , B. adolescentis, B. pseudolongum , B. pseudocatenulatum , and B. animalis subsp.…”

Bifidobacterial Transfer from Mother to Child as Examined by an Animal Model

“…longum 1886B were used primers B1886_0443_fw (5′-AAGCCAAGGACATGTTCGAC-3′) and B1886_0443_rev (5′-TGGTGTATCTGGCGTTCTTG-3′) [19]. For species specific qPCR were used following primer pairs: Bbif1 (5′-CCACATGATCGCATGTGATTG-3′) and Bbif2 (5′-CCGAAGGCTTGCTCCCAAA-3′) for B. bifidum species [29], Bbre1 (5′-CCGGATGCTCCATCACAC-3′) and Bbre2 (5′-ACAAAGTGCCTTGCTCCCT-3′) for B.breve species [40], Blon1 (5′-TTCCAGTTGATCGCATGGTC-3′) and Blon2 (5′-GGGAAGCCGTATCTCTACGA-3′) for B. longum .…”