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University of Nebraska–Lincoln

The Department of Food Science & Technology

IMPACTING THE WORLD THREE TIMES A DAY

 

Dr. Robert W. Hutkins

  
 

Professor

Robert Hutkins
Education:
MS
Food Science & Nutrition
University of Missouri
PhD
Food Science & Nutrition
University of Minnesota
Post Doc
Microbiology
Boston University School of Medicine
 
Contact Information:
338 Food Industry Complex
Lincoln, NE 68583-0919
E-Mail: rhutkins1@unl.edu
Teaching and/or Extension Activities:
FDST 280, FDST 405/805, FDST 455/855, FDST 429/829, FDST 908
 
Research Area:
The Hutkins Lab studies bacteria important in fermented foods and in human health. We are particularly interested in understanding the molecular basis for metabolism of prebiotic sugars by lactic acid bacteria and bifidobacteria (so-called probiotic bacteria). How these prebiotics shift the intestinal microbiota in humans and animals is also being studied. We are also interested in the anti-adhesive properties of oligosaccharides and the molecular mechanisms involved in pathogen binding to the surface of host cells.
 
Five Selected Publications:
  • Goh, Y.J., C. Zhang, A.K. Benson, V. Schlegel, J.-H. Lee, and R.W. Hutkins. 2006. Identification of a putative operon involved in fructooligosaccharide utilization by Lactobacillus paracasei. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 72:7518-7530.
  • Makarova, K., A. Slesarev, Y. Wolf, A. Sorokin, B. Mirkin, E. Koonin, A. Pavlov, N. Pavlova, V. Karamychev, N. Polouchine, V. Shakhova, I. Grigoriev, Y. Lou, D. Rohksar, S. Lucas, K. Huang, D. M. Goodstein, T. Hawkins, V. Plengvidhya, D. Welker, J. Hughes, Y. Goh, A. Benson, K. Baldwin, J.-H. Lee, I. Díaz-Muniz, B. Dosti, V. Smeianov, W. Wechter, R. Barabote, G. Lorca, E. Altermann, R. Barrangou, B. Ganesan, Y. Xie, H. Rawsthorne, D. Tamir, C. Parker, F. Breidt, J. Broadbent, R. Hutkins, D. O’Sullivan, J. Steele, G. Unlu, M. Saier, T. Klaenhammer, P. Richardson, S. Kozyavkin, B. Weimer, and D. A. Mills. 2006. Comparative genomics of the lactic acid bacteria. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 103:15611-15616.
  • Shoaf, K., G.L. Mulvey, G.D. Armstrong, and R.W. Hutkins. 2006. Prebiotic galactooligosaccharides reduce adherence of Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli to tissue culture cells. Infect. Immun. 74:6920-6928.
  • Goh, Y.J., J.-H. Lee, and R.W. Hutkins. 2007. Functional analysis of the fructooligosaccharide utilization operon in Lactobacillus paracasei 1195. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 73:5716-5724.
  • Shoaf-Sweeney, K.D., and R.W. Hutkins. 2009. Adherence, anti-adherence, and oligosaccharides: preventing pathogens from sticking to the host. Adv. Food Nutr. Res. 55:101-161.