The ability to produce polysaccharides with diverse biological functions is widespread in bacteria. In lactic acid bacteria (LAB), production of polysaccharides has long been associated with the technological, functional and health-promoting benefits of these microorganisms. In particular, the capsular polysaccharides and exopolysaccharides have been implicated in modulation of the rheological properties of fermented products. For this reason, screening and selection of exocellular polysaccharide-producing LAB has been extensively carried out by academia and industry. To further exploit the ability of LAB to produce polysaccharides, an in-depth understanding of their biochemistry, genetics, biosynthetic pathways, regulation and structure-function relationships is mandatory. Here, we provide a critical overview of the latest advances in the field of glycosciences in LAB. Surprisingly, the understanding of the molecular processes involved in polysaccharide synthesis is lagging behind, and has not accompanied the increasing commercial value and application potential of these polymers. Seizing the natural diversity of polysaccharides for exciting new applications will require a concerted effort encompassing in-depth physiological characterization of LAB at the systems level. Combining high-throughput experimentation with computational approaches, biochemical and structural characterization of the polysaccharides and understanding of the structure-function-application relationships is essential to achieve this ambitious goal.

中文翻译：

---

乳酸菌产生的多糖：从基因到工业应用。

产生具有多种生物学功能的多糖的能力广泛存在于细菌中。在乳酸菌（LAB）中，多糖的生产一直与这些微生物的技术，功能和促进健康的益处有关。特别地，荚膜多糖和胞外多糖与发酵产物的流变性质的调节有关。因此，学术界和工业界已经广泛地进行了筛选和选择产生胞外多糖的LAB。为了进一步利用乳酸菌生产多糖的能力，必须深入了解其生物化学，遗传学，生物合成途径，调节和结构-功能关系。这里，我们提供了LAB糖科学领域最新进展的重要概述。令人惊讶地，对多糖合成中涉及的分子过程的理解是落后的，并且没有伴随这些聚合物的商业价值和应用潜力的增加。抓住多糖的天然多样性以实现令人兴奋的新应用将需要共同努力，包括在系统级对乳酸菌进行深入的生理表征。将高通量实验与计算方法相结合，多糖的生化和结构表征以及对结构-功能-应用关系的理解对于实现这一宏伟目标至关重要。对多糖合成中涉及的分子过程的了解还很落后，并且没有伴随这些聚合物的商业价值和应用潜力的增加。抓住多糖的天然多样性以实现令人兴奋的新应用将需要共同努力，包括在系统级对乳酸菌进行深入的生理表征。将高通量实验与计算方法相结合，多糖的生化和结构表征以及对结构-功能-应用关系的理解对于实现这一宏伟目标至关重要。对多糖合成中涉及的分子过程的了解还很落后，并且没有伴随这些聚合物的商业价值和应用潜力的增加。抓住多糖的天然多样性以实现令人兴奋的新应用将需要共同努力，包括在系统级对乳酸菌进行深入的生理表征。将高通量实验与计算方法相结合，多糖的生化和结构表征以及对结构-功能-应用关系的理解对于实现这一宏伟目标至关重要。抓住多糖的天然多样性以实现令人兴奋的新应用将需要共同努力，包括在系统级对乳酸菌进行深入的生理表征。将高通量实验与计算方法，多糖的生化和结构表征以及对结构-功能-应用关系的理解相结合对于实现这一宏伟目标至关重要。抓住多糖的天然多样性以实现令人兴奋的新应用将需要共同努力，包括在系统级对乳酸菌进行深入的生理表征。将高通量实验与计算方法相结合，多糖的生化和结构表征以及对结构-功能-应用关系的理解对于实现这一宏伟目标至关重要。