Lindemann Stephen R
Whistler Center for Carbohydrate Research, Department of Food Science, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907 USA.
Department of Nutrition Science, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907 USA.
Curr Opin Chem Eng. 2020 Dec;30:96-102. doi: 10.1016/j.coche.2020.08.004. Epub 2020 Sep 14.
Although microbes competing for simple substrates are well-known to obey the ecological competitive exclusion principle, little is known regarding how complex substrates influence the ecology of microbial communities. The vast structural diversity of polysaccharides makes them ideal substrates for cooperative microbial degradation. Potential mechanisms for division of metabolic labor in microbial communities consuming polysaccharides are 1) complementary differences in gene content, 2) alternate regulation of polysaccharide degradation genes, 3) subtle differences in hydrolytic enzyme functionality, and 4) specialization in transport and consumption of hydrolysis products. Engineering division of labor in polysaccharide degradation using these mechanisms as control points may improve our ability to engineer microbiomes for improved productivity and stability in diverse environments.
虽然众所周知，争夺简单底物的微生物遵循生态竞争排斥原理，但对于复杂底物如何影响微生物群落的生态却知之甚少。多糖巨大的结构多样性使其成为微生物协同降解的理想底物。在消耗多糖的微生物群落中，代谢分工的潜在机制包括：1）基因含量的互补差异；2）多糖降解基因的交替调控；3）水解酶功能的细微差异；4）水解产物运输和消耗的专业化。利用这些机制作为控制点来设计多糖降解中的分工，可能会提高我们设计微生物群落的能力，从而在不同环境中提高生产力和稳定性。
