Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Taga, Michiko E.
• Ludington, William B.

Titel

Nutrient encryption and the diversity of cobamides, siderophores, and glycans

Ist Teil von

• Trends in microbiology (Regular ed.), 2023-02, Vol.31 (2), p.115-119

Ort / Verlag

England: Elsevier Ltd

Erscheinungsjahr

2023

Quelle

MEDLINE

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Encryption makes information available only to those with the decoding key. We propose that microbes, living in a chemical environment, encrypt nutrients, thereby making them available only to those with the decoding enzymes, such as their kin. Examples of encrypted nutrients include cobamides, which are expensive to make and valuable for microbial fitness. Furthermore, we propose that hosts encrypt nutrients to encourage desirable colonizers. For instance, plant root exudates and breast milk oligosaccharides encourage beneficial microbes.