Mucin-Degrading Microbes Release Monosaccharides That Chemoattract and Facilitate Colonization of the Human Intestinal Mucus Layer.

It is widely accepted that the pathogen exploits an intestinal environment with an altered microbiota, but the details of these microbe-microbe interactions are unclear. Adherence and colonization of mucus has been demonstrated for several enteric pathogens and it is possible that mucin-associated microbes may be working in concert with . We showed that ribotype-027 adheres to MUC2 glycans and using fecal bioreactors, we identified that associates with several mucin-degrading microbes. was found to chemotax toward intestinal mucus and its glycan components, demonstrating that senses the mucus layer. Although lacks the glycosyl hydrolases required to degrade mucin glycans, coculturing with the mucin-degrading , , and allowed to grow in media that lacked glucose but contained purified MUC2. Collectively, these studies expand our knowledge on how intestinal microbes support .