A single sulfatase is required to access colonic mucin by a gut bacterium.
Luis, A.S., Jin, C., Pereira, G.V., Glowacki, R.W.P., Gugel, S.R., Singh, S., Byrne, D.P., Pudlo, N.A., London, J.A., Basle, A., Reihill, M., Oscarson, S., Eyers, P.A., Czjzek, M., Michel, G., Barbeyron, T., Yates, E.A., Hansson, G.C., Karlsson, N.G., Cartmell, A., Martens, E.C.(2021) Nature 598: 332-337
- PubMed: 34616040 
- DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-03967-5
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:  
7ALL, 7AN1, 7ANA, 7ANB, 7OQD - PubMed Abstract: 
Humans have co-evolved with a dense community of microbial symbionts that inhabit the lower intestine. In the colon, secreted mucus creates a barrier that separates these microorganisms from the intestinal epithelium 1 . Some gut bacteria are able to utilize mucin glycoproteins, the main mucus component, as a nutrient source ...