Sucrose Limitation and Inulin Metabolism

Novel approach in the fight against obesity: modulating gut microbiota by probiotic inulin producing bacteria

Obesity is associated with a low-grade inflammatory response, which is, among other things, triggered by bacterial plasma lipopolysaccharide (LPS). A high-energy diet, increases the amount of LPS-producing gut microbiota, and increased LPS levels has been observed in obese individuals. By inducing changes in the gut microbiota by prebiotics like inulin, it’s possible to decrease the plasma LPS level. This is associated with the stimulation of bifidobacterial growth. We have designed a novel approach to address this issue of plasma LPS, by probioticly induce changes in the gut flora by genetically modifying a bacteria to produce plant originated inulin. We cloned the two genes encoding sucrose:sucrose fructosyltransferase (SST) and fructose:fructose fructosyltransferase (FFT) from the Jerusalem artichoke into a bacterial chassi. The probiotic bacteria are then introduced into the gut via yoghurt and will produce inulin by using sucrose as acceptor molecules.