University of York

About: University of York is a education organization based out in York, York, United Kingdom. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Health care. The organization has 22089 authors who have published 56925 publications receiving 2458285 citations. The organization is also known as: York University & Ebor..

Extensive Fungal Diversity in Plant Roots

Abstract: Fungi play crucially important roles in the biosphere, mediating many ecological processes. Despite this, the fungal diversity in natural habitats is poorly known. Using newly designed fungal-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) primers ([1][1]), we examined total fungal diversity in a

Human gut Bacteroidetes can utilize yeast mannan through a selfish mechanism

Abstract: Yeasts, which have been a component of the human diet for at least 7,000 years, possess an elaborate cell wall α-mannan The influence of yeast mannan on the ecology of the human microbiota is unknown Here we show that yeast α-mannan is a viable food source for the Gram-negative bacterium Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron, a dominant member of the microbiota Detailed biochemical analysis and targeted gene disruption studies support a model whereby limited cleavage of α-mannan on the surface generates large oligosaccharides that are subsequently depolymerized to mannose by the action of periplasmic enzymes Co-culturing studies showed that metabolism of yeast mannan by B thetaiotaomicron presents a 'selfish' model for the catabolism of this difficult to breakdown polysaccharide Genomic comparison with B thetaiotaomicron in conjunction with cell culture studies show that a cohort of highly successful members of the microbiota has evolved to consume sterically-restricted yeast glycans, an adaptation that may reflect the incorporation of eukaryotic microorganisms into the human diet