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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, March 2007, p. 1753-1765, Vol. 73, No. 6
0099-2240/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.01151-06
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Identification of Prebiotic Fructooligosaccharide Metabolism in Lactobacillus plantarum WCFS1 through Microarrays{triangledown}

Delphine M. A. Saulnier,1* Douwe Molenaar,2,3 Willem M. de Vos,2,4 Glenn R. Gibson,1 and Sofia Kolida1

Food Microbial Sciences Unit, School of Food Biosciences, The University of Reading, Reading, United Kingdom,1 Wageningen Centre for Food Sciences, Wageningen, The Netherlands,2 NIZO Food Research, Ede, The Netherlands,3 Laboratory of Microbiology, Wageningen Agriculture University, Wageningen, The Netherlands4

Received 18 May 2006/ Accepted 8 January 2007

Short-chain fructooligosaccharides (scFOS) and other prebiotics are used to selectively stimulate the growth and activity of lactobacilli and bifidobacteria in the colon. However, there is little information on the mechanisms whereby prebiotics exert their specific effects upon such microorganisms. To study the genomic basis of scFOS metabolism in Lactobacillus plantarum WCFS1, two-color microarrays were used to screen for differentially expressed genes when grown on scFOS compared to glucose (control). A significant up-regulation (8- to 60-fold) was observed with a set of only five genes located in a single locus and predicted to encode a sucrose phosphoenolpyruvate transport system (PTS), a ß-fructofuranosidase, a fructokinase, an {alpha}-glucosidase, and a sucrose operon repressor. Several other genes were slightly overexpressed, including pyruvate dehydrogenase. For the latter, no detectable activity in L. plantarum under various growth conditions has been previously reported. A mannose-PTS likely to encode glucose uptake was 50-fold down-regulated as well as, to a lower extent, other PTSs. Chemical analysis of the different moieties of scFOS that were depleted in the growth medium revealed that the trisaccharide 1-kestose present in scFOS was preferentially utilized, in comparison with the tetrasaccharide nystose and the pentasaccharide fructofuranosylnystose. The main end products of scFOS fermentation were lactate and acetate. This is the first example in lactobacilli of the association of a sucrose PTS and a ß-fructofuranosidase that could be used for scFOS degradation.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Food Microbial Sciences Unit, School of Food Biosciences, The University of Reading, Box 226, Reading RG6 6AP, United Kingdom. Phone: 44 (0)118 378 8700. Fax: 44 (0)118 931 0080. E-mail: d.m.a.saulnier{at}reading.ac.uk.

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 19 January 2007.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, March 2007, p. 1753-1765, Vol. 73, No. 6
0099-2240/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.01151-06
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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