If you’re ever feeling neglected, just remember that a few trillion bacteria are relying on you right now for survival.

Research into the bacterial buddies we all carry in and on our bodies has been one of the most exciting avenues for medical discovery in the last few years.

New studies have now shown just how gut bacteria metabolises the complex dietary carbohydrates found in fruits and vegetables – the process that provides us with the much-touted health benefits of “dietary fibre”.

We now know the huge range of bacteria that make up the human microbiome have a vital role to play in human health’ central to metabolism and well-being.

A collaborative effort with teams from the UK, Canada, USA and Sweden has found how one group of gut bacteria, known as ‘Bacteroidetes’, help us digest complex sugars called xyloglucans.

“Despite our omnivorous diet, humans aren't well equipped to eat complex plant matter,” says Professor Gideon Davies, who led the project.

“For this we rely on our gut bacteria. This work is helping us to understand the science of that process.”

“The possible implications for commerce and industry extend beyond the realm of human nutrition, however. The study of how enzymes break down plant matter is also of direct relevance to the development of processes for environmentally-friendly energy solutions such as biofuels,” he added.

The study saw international collaborators carry out detailed structural and mechanistic studies into the precise functioning of specific enzymes.

The work has shed further light on which organisms can and cannot digest certain fruits and vegetables, and how the “good bacteria” do what they do.

Recent studies such as this will inform future work on a wide range of nutritional issues including prebiotics (the consumption of 'beneficial' micro-organisms as a food supplement) and probiotics (the consumption of foods or supplements intended to stimulate the production of healthy bacteria in the gut).