Abstract
Akkermansia muciniphila is a human microbial symbiont residing in the mucosal layer of the large intestine. Its main carbon source is the highly heterogeneous mucin glycoprotein that constitutes the majority of the mucus dry weight. A. muciniphila uses an array of Carbohydrate-Active enZymes (CAZymes) and sulfatases to access this complex energy source. Here we describe the biochemical characterisation of fifty-four glycoside hydrolases (from twenty-four families), twelve sulfatases, and one polysaccharide lyase to provide a holistic understanding of the O-glycan degrading activities A. muciniphila carries out in the colon. The results provide an extensive insight into the sequence of O-glycan degradation and the localisation of the different activities. One of the most outstanding elements of this work was the demonstration that these enzymes can act synergistically to degrade the O-glycans on the mucin polypeptide to completion, down to the core GalNAc.
Competing Interest Statement
The authors have declared no competing interest.