Bile salt hydrolases

Primary bile acids are synthesized in the liver from cholesterol and are conjugated with either glycine or taurine before secretion. The carboxyl group of the bile acid and the amino group of the amino acid are linked by an amide bond. Bile salt hydrolases cleave the peptide linkage of bile acids, which results in the removal of the amino acid group from the steroid core. The resulting unconjugated bile acids precipitate at low pH
Begley et al. 2006 Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 72(3): 1729–1738

In the dista…