Abstract
L-Fucose is one of the key metabolites in human–gut microbiome interactions. It is continuously synthesized by humans in the form of fucosylated glycans and fucosyl-oligosaccharides and delivered into the gut throughout their lifetime. Gut microorganisms metabolize L-fucose and produce short-chain fatty acids, which are absorbed by epithelial cells and used as energy sources or signaling molecules. Recent studies have revealed that the carbon flux in L-fucose metabolism by gut microorganisms is distinct from that in other sugar metabolisms because of cofactor imbalance and low efficiencies in energy synthesis of L-fucose metabolism. The large amounts of short-chain fatty acids produced during microbial L-fucose metabolism are used by epithelial cells to recover most of the energy used up during L-fucose synthesis. In this review, we present a detailed overview of microbial L-fucose metabolism and a potential solution for disease treatment and prevention using genetically engineered probiotics that modulate fucose metabolism. Our review contributes to the understanding of human–gut microbiome interactions through L-fucose metabolism.
Key points
• Fucose-metabolizing microorganisms produce large amounts of short-chain fatty acids
• Fucose metabolism differs from other sugar metabolisms by cofactor imbalance
• Modulating fucose metabolism is the key to control host–gut microbiome interactions
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Funding
This work was supported by the Korea Institute of Planning and Evaluation for Technology in Food, Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries funded by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (32136-05-1-SB010) and Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (20018132). KHK also received grant support from the Korea University and Food Safety Hall for the Institute of Biomedical Science and Food Safety, Korea University.
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JK searched and organized the literature and drafted the manuscript. KHK and YSJ reviewed the integrity and accuracy of the manuscript. All authors have read and approved the final version of the manuscript.
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Kim, J., **, YS. & Kim, K.H. L-Fucose is involved in human–gut microbiome interactions. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 107, 3869–3875 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-023-12527-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-023-12527-y