Bifidobacterium longum JCM 7052 genome sequencing. Bifidobacterium longum subsp. longum strain:JCM 7052

Bifidobacterium longum subsp. longum is a primary bifidobacterial species that can ferment arabinogalactan-proteins (AGPs) as a carbohydrate source. Gum arabic and larch AGPs are dietary fibers with prebiotic effects that act by increasing the number of bifidobacteria in the human body. B. longum JCM 1217 can ferment larch AGP, but not gum arabic AGP. On the other hand, B. longum JCM 7052 is known as a gum arabic AGP-fermentable strain, but the degradative mechanism remained unclear. We analyzed B. longum JCM 7052 genome sequence for the finding of key enzymes to degrade gum arabic AGP.