Revisiting the Metabolic Capabilities of Bifidobacterium longum susbp. longum and Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis from a Glycoside Hydrolase Perspective

Blanco, Guillermo; Ruiz, Lorena; Tamés, Hector; Ruas-Madiedo, Patricia; Fdez-Riverola, Florentino; Sánchez, Borja; Lourenço, Anália; Margolles, Abelardo

doi:10.3390/microorganisms8050723

Open AccessArticle

Revisiting the Metabolic Capabilities of Bifidobacterium longum susbp. longum and Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis from a Glycoside Hydrolase Perspective

by

Guillermo Blanco

^1,2,

Lorena Ruiz

^2,3,*,

Hector Tamés

^2,3,

Patricia Ruas-Madiedo

^2,3

,

Florentino Fdez-Riverola

^1,4,5

,

Borja Sánchez

^2,3,

Anália Lourenço

^1,4,5,6,*

and

Abelardo Margolles

^2,3

¹

Escuela Superior de Ingeniería Informática, Edificio Politécnico, Campus Universitario As Lagoas s/n, University of Vigo, 32004 Ourense, Spain

²

Department of Microbiology and Biochemistry of Dairy Products, Instituto de Productos Lácteos de Asturias (IPLA), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Paseo Río Linares S/N, Villaviciosa, 33300 Asturias, Spain

³

Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria del Principado de Asturias (ISPA), Oviedo, 33011 Asturias, Spain

⁴

CINBIO-Centro de Investigaciones Biomédicas, University of Vigo, Campus Universitario Lagoas-Marcosende, 36310 Vigo, Spain

⁵

SING Research Group, Galicia Sur Health Research Institute (IIS Galicia Sur), SERGAS-UVIGO, Hospital Álvaro Cunqueiro, 36312 Vigo, Spain

⁶

CEB-Centre of Biological Engineering, University of Minho, Campus de Campus de Gualtar, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal

^*

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Microorganisms 2020, 8(5), 723; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms8050723

Submission received: 16 March 2020 / Revised: 2 May 2020 / Accepted: 11 May 2020 / Published: 13 May 2020

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bifidobacteria: Insights from Ecology to Genomics of a Key Microbial Group of the Mammalian Gut Microbiota)

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Abstract

Bifidobacteria are among the most abundant microorganisms inhabiting the intestine of humans and many animals. Within the genus Bifidobacterium, several beneficial effects have been attributed to strains belonging to the subspecies Bifidobacterium longum subsp. longum and Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis, which are often found in infants and adults. The increasing numbers of sequenced genomes belonging to these two subspecies, and the availability of novel computational tools focused on predicting glycolytic abilities, with the aim of understanding the capabilities of degrading specific carbohydrates, allowed us to depict the potential glycoside hydrolases (GH) of these bacteria, with a focus on those GH profiles that differ in the two subspecies. We performed an in silico examination of 188 sequenced B. longum genomes and depicted the commonly present and strain-specific GHs and GH families among representatives of this species. Additionally, GH profiling, genome-based and 16S rRNA-based clustering analyses showed that the subspecies assignment of some strains does not properly match with their genetic background. Furthermore, the analysis of the potential GH component allowed the distinction of clear GH patterns. Some of the GH activities, and their link with the two subspecies under study, are further discussed. Overall, our in silico analysis poses some questions about the suitability of considering the GH activities of B. longum subsp. longum and B. longum subsp. infantis to gain insight into the characterization and classification of these two subspecies with probiotic interest.

Keywords: Bifidobacterium; longum; infantis; carbohydrates; glycoside hydrolases; computational screening

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MDPI and ACS Style

Blanco, G.; Ruiz, L.; Tamés, H.; Ruas-Madiedo, P.; Fdez-Riverola, F.; Sánchez, B.; Lourenço, A.; Margolles, A. Revisiting the Metabolic Capabilities of Bifidobacterium longum susbp. longum and Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis from a Glycoside Hydrolase Perspective. Microorganisms 2020, 8, 723. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms8050723

AMA Style

Blanco G, Ruiz L, Tamés H, Ruas-Madiedo P, Fdez-Riverola F, Sánchez B, Lourenço A, Margolles A. Revisiting the Metabolic Capabilities of Bifidobacterium longum susbp. longum and Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis from a Glycoside Hydrolase Perspective. Microorganisms. 2020; 8(5):723. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms8050723

Chicago/Turabian Style

Blanco, Guillermo, Lorena Ruiz, Hector Tamés, Patricia Ruas-Madiedo, Florentino Fdez-Riverola, Borja Sánchez, Anália Lourenço, and Abelardo Margolles. 2020. "Revisiting the Metabolic Capabilities of Bifidobacterium longum susbp. longum and Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis from a Glycoside Hydrolase Perspective" Microorganisms 8, no. 5: 723. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms8050723

APA Style

Blanco, G., Ruiz, L., Tamés, H., Ruas-Madiedo, P., Fdez-Riverola, F., Sánchez, B., Lourenço, A., & Margolles, A. (2020). Revisiting the Metabolic Capabilities of Bifidobacterium longum susbp. longum and Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis from a Glycoside Hydrolase Perspective. Microorganisms, 8(5), 723. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms8050723

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Revisiting the Metabolic Capabilities of Bifidobacterium longum susbp. longum and Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis from a Glycoside Hydrolase Perspective

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