Molecules (Oct 2021)

Lysozyme-like Protein Produced by <i>Bifidobacterium longum</i> Regulates Human Gut Microbiota Using In Vitro Models

  • Mingzhu Du,
  • Xinqiang Xie,
  • Shuanghong Yang,
  • Ying Li,
  • Tong Jiang,
  • Juan Yang,
  • Longyan Li,
  • Yunxiao Huang,
  • Qingping Wu,
  • Wei Chen,
  • Jumei Zhang

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26216480
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 26, no. 21
p. 6480

Abstract

Read online

The extracellular secreted protein of Bifidobacterium longum (B. longum) plays an important role in maintaining the homeostasis of the human intestinal microenvironment. However, the mechanism(s) of interaction remain unclear. Lysozyme is a kind of antibacterial peptide. In this study, the amino acid sequence of a lysozyme-like protein of B. longum based on whole-genome data of an isolate from human gut feces was found. We further predicted functional domains from the amino acid sequence, purified the protein, and verified its bioactivity. The growth of some bacteria were significantly delayed by the 020402_LYZ M1 protein. In addition, the gut microbiota was analyzed via high-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA genes and an in vitro fermentation model, and the fluctuations in the gut microbiota under the treatment of 020402_LYZ M1 protein were characterized. The 020402_LYZ M1 protein affected the composition of human gut microbiota significantly, implying that the protein is able to communicate with intestinal microbes as a regulatory factor.

Keywords