Figure 10.

Bacteroides and Akkermanisa degrades mucin glycans in a manner which diminishes the binding capacity of rotavirus VP4. a. Incubation of Bacteroidetes thetaiotaomicron and Akkermansia mucinphila with purified germ-free cecal Muc2 result in release mucin oligosaccharides, as determined by the phenol-sulfuric acid method. Incubation of Muc2 with Lactobacillus acidophilus had no effect on oligosaccharide concentration. b. Plaque Assays quantification (plaque-forming units per milliliter of virus (PFU/ml)) of rotavirus added to MA104 African green monkey kidney in the presence of 10 mg/ml intact Muc2 or Muc2 pre-treated with B. thetaiotaomicron, A. mucinphila or L. acidophilus. Methylcellulose, which mirrors the viscosity of mucus was added as another control. One-Way ANOVA *p < .05. c. In silico analysis of the VP8 domain of the spike protein of rotavirus VP4 binding to mucin core 2 glycans (constructed using SWEET II software).