Available to mentor
My current research projects at the University of Michigan focus on metabolism of complex carbohydrates (glycans or polysaccharides) and other nutrients, such as dietary protein, by human gut bacteria. Many different lineages of human gut bacteria have evolved mechanisms to degrade dietary fiber polysaccharides and some can access mucus glycoproteins for nutrients. Understanding the mechanisms by which gut bacteria metabolize different glycans represents an important step in interpreting the behavior and function of organisms and genes that are present in the human microbiome. Ongoing studies in my lab include: 1) Exploring the mechanisms through which “commensal” microbiota and their resident bacteriophages contribute to inflammatory bowel disease in genetically susceptible hosts by degrading intestinal mucus glycans and characterization of the enzymes involved; 2) Investigating how symbiotic gut bacteria like Bacteroides and members of other taxa metabolize the widely varied polysaccharide structures found in dietary fiber polysaccharides and mucin glycoproteins; 3) Exploring the enzymatic, sensory and transport mechanisms through which carbohydrate degradation occurs in Bacteroides and other gut microbes along with genome evolution events that mediate lateral gene transfer of these traits; 4) exploring the roles of polysaccharide capsules in B. thetaiotaomicron interactions with host immunity and bacteriophage.
Martens Lab
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PhDUniversity of Wisconsin, Madison, 2005
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BAWashington University, St. Louis, 1997
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Center MemberRogel Cancer Center
Recognition and metabolism of complex carbohydrates and other dietary nutrients by human distal gut bacteria
Role of bacterial degradation of secreted host mucus and extracellular matrix glycoproteins in inflammatory bowel disease, enteric infection and colorectal cancer
Genomic evolution and lateral gene transfer in human gut bacteria and their environmental relatives
Assembly, ecology and function of complex microbial communities in animal guts
Development of diet- and microbiome-based therapeutics to treat human disease or promote intestinal health
Mechanisms of bacteria-bacteriophage interaction and persistence in the human gut
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Hayase E, Hayase T, Mukherjee A, Stinson SC, Jamal MA, Ortega MR, Sanchez CA, Ahmed SS, Karmouch JL, Chang C-C, Flores II, McDaniel LK, Brown AN, El-Himri RK, Chapa VA, Tan L, Tran BQ, Xiao Y, Fan C, Pham D, Halsey TM, Jin Y, Tsai W-B, Prasad R, Glover IK, Enkhbayar A, Mohammed A, Schmiester M, King KY, Britton RA, Reddy P, Wong MC, Ajami NJ, Wargo JA, Shelburne S, Okhuysen PC, Liu C, Fowler SW, Conner ME, Katsamakis Z, Smith N, Burgos da Silva M, Ponce DM, Peled JU, van den Brink MRM, Peterson CB, Rondon G, Molldrem JJ, Champlin RE, Shpall EJ, Lorenzi PL, Mehta RS, Martens EC, Alousi AM, Jenq RR. Cell Host Microbe, 2024 Sep 11; 32 (9): 1621 - 1636.e6.Journal ArticleBacteroides ovatus alleviates dysbiotic microbiota-induced graft-versus-host disease.
DOI:10.1016/j.chom.2024.08.004 PMID: 39214085 -
Schaus SR, Vasconcelos Pereira G, Luis AS, Madlambayan E, Terrapon N, Ostrowski MP, Jin C, Henrissat B, Hansson GC, Martens EC. mBio, 2024 Aug 14; 15 (8): e0003924Journal ArticleRuminococcus torques is a keystone degrader of intestinal mucin glycoprotein, releasing oligosaccharides used by Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron.
DOI:10.1128/mbio.00039-24 PMID: 38975756 -
Wolter M, Grant ET, Boudaud M, Pudlo NA, Pereira GV, Eaton KA, Martens EC, Desai MS. Mol Syst Biol, 2024 Jun; 20 (6): 596 - 625.Journal ArticleDiet-driven differential response of Akkermansia muciniphila modulates pathogen susceptibility.
DOI:10.1038/s44320-024-00036-7 PMID: 38745106 -
Kuffa P, Pickard JM, Campbell A, Yamashita M, Schaus SR, Martens EC, Schmidt TM, Inohara N, Núñez G, Caruso R. Cell Host Microbe, 2023 Dec 13; 31 (12): 2007 - 2022.e12.Journal ArticleFiber-deficient diet inhibits colitis through the regulation of the niche and metabolism of a gut pathobiont.
DOI:10.1016/j.chom.2023.10.016 PMID: 37967555 -
Corrêa RO, Castro PR, Fachi JL, Nirello VD, El-Sahhar S, Imada S, Pereira GV, Pral LP, Araújo NVP, Fernandes MF, Matheus VA, de Souza Felipe J, Dos Santos Pereira Gomes AB, de Oliveira S, de Rezende Rodovalho V, de Oliveira SRM, de Assis HC, Oliveira SC, Dos Santos Martins F, Martens E, Colonna M, Varga-Weisz P, Vinolo MAR. Microbiome, 2023 Apr 26; 11 (1): 90Journal ArticleInulin diet uncovers complex diet-microbiota-immune cell interactions remodeling the gut epithelium.
DOI:10.1186/s40168-023-01520-2 PMID: 37101209 -
Pollet RM, Foley MH, Kumar SS, Elmore A, Jabara NT, Venkatesh S, Vasconcelos Pereira G, Martens EC, Koropatkin NM. J Bacteriol, 2023 Nov 21; 205 (11): e0021823Journal ArticleMultiple TonB homologs are important for carbohydrate utilization by Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron.
DOI:10.1128/jb.00218-23 PMID: 37874167 -
Spiga L, Fansler RT, Perera YR, Shealy NG, Munneke MJ, David HE, Torres TP, Lemoff A, Ran X, Richardson KL, Pudlo N, Martens EC, Folta-Stogniew E, Yang ZJ, Skaar EP, Byndloss MX, Chazin WJ, Zhu W. Cell Host Microbe, 2023 Oct 11; 31 (10): 1639 - 1654.e10.Journal ArticleIron acquisition by a commensal bacterium modifies host nutritional immunity during Salmonella infection.
DOI:10.1016/j.chom.2023.08.018 PMID: 37776864 -
Schmit KJ, Garcia P, Sciortino A, Aho VTE, Pardo Rodriguez B, Thomas MH, Gérardy J-J, Bastero Acha I, Halder R, Cialini C, Heurtaux T, Ostahi I, Busi SB, Grandmougin L, Lowndes T, Singh Y, Martens EC, Mittelbronn M, Buttini M, Wilmes P. Cell Rep, 2023 Sep 26; 42 (9): 113071Journal ArticleFiber deprivation and microbiome-borne curli shift gut bacterial populations and accelerate disease in a mouse model of Parkinson's disease.
DOI:10.1016/j.celrep.2023.113071 PMID: 37676767
