BoGH13A from Bacteroides ovatus represents a novel α-amylase used for Bacteroides starch breakdown in the human gut.

Members of the Bacteroidetes phylum in the human colon deploy an extensive number of proteins to capture and degrade polysaccharides. Operons devoted to glycan breakdown and uptake are termed polysaccharide utilization loci or PUL. The starch utilization system (Sus) is one such PUL and was initially described in Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron (Bt). BtSus is highly conserved across many species, except for its extracellular α-amylase, SusG. In this work, we show that the Bacteroides ovatus (Bo) extracellular α-amylase, BoGH13A, is distinguished from SusG in its evolutionary origin and its domain architecture and by being the most prevalent form in Bacteroidetes Sus. BoGH13A is the founding member of both a novel subfamily in the glycoside hydrolase family 13, GH13_47, and a novel carbohydrate-binding module, CBM98. The BoGH13A CBM98-CBM48-GH13_47 architecture differs from the CBM58 embedded within the GH13_36 of SusG. These domains adopt a distinct spatial orientation and invoke a different association with the outer membrane. The BoCBM98 binding site is required for Bo growth on polysaccharides and optimal enzymatic degradation thereof. Finally, the BoGH13A structure features bound Ca and Mn ions, the latter of which is novel for an α-amylase. Little is known about the impact of Mn on gut bacterial function, much less on polysaccharide consumption, but Mn addition to Bt expressing BoGH13A specifically enhances growth on starch. Further understanding of bacterial starch degradation signatures will enable more tailored prebiotic and pharmaceutical approaches that increase starch flux to the gut.