'Beer eating' bacteria could aid health

According to the research team, which consisted of experts from the universities of Newcastle, York, Michigan and Melbourne, it could be possible to harness the bacteria to develop treatments for people suffering from a variety of bowel diseases.

“When you have certain bacteria dominant in the gut these microorganisms can produce molecules which have health promoting effects

Professor Gideon Davies

As humans have consumed fermented foods for thousands of years, the ability of strains of Bacteroides thetaiotomicron (BT) to degrade yeasts is almost exclusively found in the human gut, the researchers said.

By discovering the “complex machinery” that targets yeast carbohydrates, it has provided researchers with a better understand of how the human microbiome has the capacity to obtain nutrients from a highly varied diet.

Gideon Davies, professor at the University of York, said: “The ability of Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron to degrade yeast cell wall components may be of importance in fighting off yeast infections and in autoimmune diseases such as Crohn’s disease.

“When you have certain bacteria dominant in the gut these microorganisms can produce molecules which have health promoting effects.”

According to Davies, a lot of interest lies in the development of prebiotics - chemicals that induce the growth of bacteria and fungi.

“The more you understand about how complex glycans are degraded the more you can think about developing sophisticated prebiotics that target the growth of specific beneficial bacteria,” Davies said.

The research has revealed the mechanism by which BT, a dominant member of the human microbiome, has learned to feast upon difficult to break down complex carbohydrates called yeast mannans, the researchers said.

Mannans, derived from the yeast cell wall, are a component in our diet from fermented foods including bread, beer, wine and soy sauce.

Spencer Williams, of the University of Melbourne, who also contributed to the research, said: “Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron is an important part of our microbiota, the community of bacteria that live within us.

“By consuming carbohydrates that we can’t, which they convert to short-chain fatty acids that they secrete into our distal gut, these bacteria establish a symbiosis that nourishes the cells that line our gut wall and provide important immune signals that establish a healthy immune response.”

A full account of the research has been published in the journal Nature.