I have led a Research Team, since 2008, that investigates the glycobiology of host-microbe interactions in the gut.

My previous research focused on the structure-function relationships of plant and microbial glycoenzymes and their potential biotechnological application (stemming from my PhD project on barley amylases in Biochemistry-Molecular Biology of Nutrition, Marseille University, France in 1993) and successive postdoctoral positions on fungal glucoamylases at the Carlsberg Research Institute (EMBO and EU-funding) and Institute of Food Research (Marie-Curie fellowship).

After obtaining a lectureship position in Marseille University in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (in 1997), I led a research Group on Glycosidases in Marseille (1997-1999) and in Norwich (1999-2004) while on secondment at IFR. I put together and coordinated an EU FP5 project on glycosidases and glycosidase inhibitors in food processing (1999-2003),.I obtained a post-doctoral qualification “Habilitation à Diriger les Recherches” in Marseille back in 2005.

Today my team studies the molecular mechanisms of gut bacteria/mucin interactions in health and disease.

Key Publications

Latousakis D, Nepravishta R, Rejzek M, Wegmann U, Le Gall G, Kavanaugh D, Colquhoun IJ, Frese S, MacKenzie DA, Walter J, Angulo J, Field RA, Juge N. Serine-rich repeat protein adhesins from Lactobacillus reuteri display strain specific glycosylation profiles. Glycobiology. 2019 Jan 1;29(1):45-58. doi: 10.1093/glycob/cwy100

Sequeira S, Kavanaugh D, MacKenzie DA, Šuligoj T, Walpole S, Leclaire C, Gunning AP, Latousakis D, Willats WGT, Angulo J, Dong C, Juge N. Structural basis for the role of serine-rich repeat proteins from Lactobacillus reuteri in gut microbe-host interactions. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2018 Mar 20;115(12):E2706-E2715. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1715016115. Epub 2018 Mar 5.

Leclaire C, Lecointe K, Gunning PA, Tribolo S, Kavanaugh DW, Wittmann A, Latousakis D, MacKenzie DA, Kawasaki N, Juge N*. Molecular basis for intestinal mucin recognition by galectin-3 and C-type lectins. FASEB J. 2018 Jun;32(6):3301-3320. doi: 10.1096/fj.201700619R. Epub 2018 Jan 29.

Owen CD, Tailford LE, Monaco S, Šuligoj T, Vaux L, Lallement R, Khedri Z, Yu H, Lecointe K, Walshaw J, Tribolo S, Horrex M, Bell A, Chen X, Taylor GL, Varki A, Angulo J, Juge N*. Unravelling the specificity and mechanism of sialic acid recognition by the gut symbiont Ruminococcus gnavus. Nat Commun. 2017 Dec 19;8(1):2196. doi: 10.1038/s41467-017-02109-8.

Bene KP, Kavanaugh DW, Leclaire C, Gunning AP, MacKenzie DA, Wittmann A, Young ID, Kawasaki N, Rajnavolgyi E, Juge N. Lactobacillus reuteri Surface Mucus Adhesins Upregulate Inflammatory Responses Through Interactions With Innate C-Type Lectin Receptors. Front Microbiol. 2017 Mar 7;8:321. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2017.00321.

Tailford L. E., Owen C. D., Walshaw J., Crost E. H., Hardy-Goddard J., Le Gall G., de Vos W. M., Taylor G. L. and Juge N.* Discovery of intramolecular trans-sialidases in human gut microbiota suggests novel mechanisms of mucosal adaptation. Nat. Commun. 6 (2015) 7624.

Kober, O.I., Ahl, D., Pin, C., Holm, L., Carding, S.R. and Juge, N.* γδ T-cell-deficient mice show alterations in mucin expression, glycosylation and goblet cells but maintain an intact mucus layer. Am. J. Physiol. Gastrointest. Liver Physiol. 306 (2014) G582-93.

Etzold, S., Kober, O.I, Mackenzie, D.A., Tailford, L.E., Gunning, A.P., Walshaw, J., Hemmings, A.M. and Juge, N.* Structural basis for adaptation of lactobacilli to gastrointestinal mucus. Environ. Microbiol. 16 (2014) 888-903.

Crost E. H., Tailford L. E., Le Gall G., Fons M., Henrissat B., and  Juge N. * Utilisation of mucin glycans by the human gut symbiont Ruminococcus gnavus is strain-dependent. PloS One 8 (2013) e76341.