Characterization of spore forming Bacilli isolated from the human gastrointestinal tract

Aims: To isolate and characterize spore‐former bacteria able to colonize the human gastrointestinal tract (GIT). Methods and Results: A total of 25 spore‐formers was isolated from faeces and ileal biopsies of healthy human volunteers and identified at the species level. Physiological analysis was performed to evaluate the ability of the various isolates to form biofilms, to swarm, to produce surfactants and molecules that have antimicrobial activity against selected pathogens. To assess the potential probiotic activity of the isolates, we tested the resistance of cells and spores to simulated gastric conditions, the ability to grow and sporulate in anaerobic conditions and the presence of toxin‐encoding genes in their genome. Conclusions: Spore‐formers belonging to various bacterial species have been isolated from the gut of healthy human volunteers. These strains appear to be well adapted to the intestinal environment and we propose them as potential probiotic strains for human use and as oral vaccine vehicles. Significance and Impact of the Study: To our knowledge this is the first detailed characterization of spore‐forming Bacilli from the human GIT. Our data suggest that the isolated species do not transit, but rather colonize this specific habitat and propose them as probiotic strains for human use.     

Diversity,ecology and intestinal function of bifidobacteria

The human gastrointestinal tract represents an environment which is a densely populated home for a microbiota that has evolved to positively contribute to host health. At birth the essentially sterile gastrointestinal tract (GIT) is rapidly colonized by microorganisms that originate from the mother and the surrounding environment. Within a short timeframe a microbiota establishes within the (breastfed) infant's GIT where bifidobacteria are among the dominant members, although their numerical dominance disappears following weaning. The numerous health benefits associated with bifidobacteria, and the consequent commercial relevance resulting from their incorporation into functional foods, has led to intensified research aimed at the molecular understanding of claimed probiotic attributes of this genus. In this review we provide the current status on the diversity and ecology of bifidobacteria. In addition, we will discuss the molecular mechanisms that allow this intriguing group of bacteria to colonize and persist in the GIT, so as to facilitate interaction with its host.     

Safety and Stability of Two Potentially Probiotic Lactobacillus Strains After In Vitro Gastrointestinal Transit

According to FAO and WHO, probiotics are defined as live microorganisms that, when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host. Most probiotic bacteria used today belong to the genera Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium and are of animal or human origin. The fundamental characteristic routinely evaluated in potential probiotics strains is their limited viability loss during gastrointestinal transit (GIT), but to date, no studies reported whether probiotics, besides viability, still also maintain their beneficial properties intact. To study this aspect, we considered two strains, Lactobacillus rhamnosus DTA 79 and L. paracasei DTA 83, previously characterised for the presence of some probiotic properties, isolated from faeces of 7- to 21-day-old babies. Here, we examined some additional properties, namely antibiotic resistance, resistance to lysozyme, presence of haemolytic activity and inhibition of pathogen biofilm formation. We then tested the effect of in vitro GIT on all these features and our results show evidence that this procedure had in some cases limited and in others no significant effects on them. Additionally, we examined the gastrointestinal resistance of the strains after skim milk fermentation and successive storage of the product for 20 and 40 days at refrigeration temperature, to see whether prolonged storage could weaken cell resistance to GIT. Our results demonstrate that a protracted refrigeration period before in vitro GIT did not affect or influenced very weakly this essential probiotic property.

     

益生菌地衣芽孢杆菌治疗鸡腹泻机理初探

目的：探讨益生菌地衣芽孢杆菌饲喂鸡腹泻的治疗效果以及分子机理。方法：从养鸡场土壤中选择性分离芽孢杆菌,通过优 化条件提高产生芽孢的比例;利用芽孢和大米混合后饲喂腹泻鸡,通过克隆测序分析腹泻鸡肠道微生物群落在饲喂前后的差异。 结果：我们分离到一株地衣芽孢杆菌,通过优化条件使产芽孢的比例提高到60 %。利用芽孢饲喂一周后能够有效地治疗鸡腹泻。 分析鸡肠道微生物群落发现：鸡腹泻后其肠道细菌群落的多样性和均匀度降低。造成腹泻鸡肠道主要菌群为动胶杆菌（Zoogloea sp.）;经芽孢饲喂后,主要菌群转变为拟杆菌（Bacteroides sp.）,与健康鸡的肠道微生物主要菌群相似。结论：我们筛选到一株可能 治疗鸡腹泻的芽孢杆菌,通过优化培养条件能够提高其产芽孢比例;腹泻鸡经芽孢饲喂后,其肠道中致病菌被益生菌所代替,形 成正常的肠微生物菌群而恢复健康。     

New insect system for testing antibiotics

New and efficient methods to screen antibiotics are needed to counter increased antibiotic resistance in pathogens and the emergence of new diseases. Here we report a new insect model for screening antibiotics in vivo using the grasshopper Romalea microptera. The system is inexpensive, efficient, and flexible, avoids animal-welfare problems, and can be used to test against most major pathogenic groups. We employed this system to test 11 commercial antibiotics against a pathogenic Encephalitozoon species (Microsporidia). Oral treatment with fumagillin or thiabendazole significantly reduced pathogen spore counts, whereas spore counts of grasshoppers fed with albendazole, ampicillin, chloramphenicol, griseofulvin, metronidazole, sulfadimethoxine, or tetracycline were not significantly different from the infected controls. Quinine produced a distinct, but nonsignificant, reduction in spores, and streptomycin a nonsignificant increase in spores. Although 2 antibiotics significantly reduced spore counts, in no case was the pathogen totally eliminated. This study demonstrates the validity of this system as a method to screen antibiotics. It also corroborates the difficulty researchers and physicians have had in treating microsporidia infections, and suggests that quinine and related alkaloid compounds should be further examined as possible therapeutic agents against this group of ubiquitous pathogens. In addition, streptomycin and related compounds should be tested to determine if this widely used antibiotic enhances microsporidiosis.     

Biological Characterization of Prasinomycin, a Phosphorus-containing Antibiotic

Prasinomycin, a new antibiotic from the green spore streptomycete, Streptomyces prasinus, primarily inhibits the growth of gram-positive microorganisms. Like penicillin, it is effective only against growing cells. Though primarily bacteriostatic at levels about the minimal inhibitory concentration, it is bactericidal at higher levels. Neither synergism nor antagonism could be demonstrated for prasinomycin with a variety of other antibiotics. It is highly active upon subcutaneous administration to mice infected with Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes C203, or Diplococcus pneumoniae. Prasinomycin has a unique prophylactic action whereby one dose protects mice against experimental infections for as long as 2 months. It is more effective against S. aureus infections in mice when administered subcutaneously 20 hr prior to infection than when given in divided doses 1 hr before and 4 hr after infection.     

产乳酸凝结芽胞杆菌N001的抗逆性研究

目的研究前期经初筛的产乳酸凝结芽胞杆菌N001芽胞的抗逆性。方法在模拟饲料制粒条件下和动物消化道内逆境条件下的存活能力,测定N001芽胞的抗热、抗酸、耐胆盐性能和对抗生素的敏感性。结果凝结芽胞杆菌N001芽胞具有很强的耐高温、耐酸、耐胆盐能力;同时N001芽胞对营养体敏感的抗生素也有良好的耐受性。结论凝结芽胞杆菌N001芽胞具有很强的抗逆性,可以作为益生菌制剂的良好菌种。     

Molecular characterization and identification of Bacillus clausii Strains marketed for use in oral bacteriotherapy

A substantial number of Bacillus species have been marketed for use in oral bacteriotherapy because of their purported ability to prevent or treat various gastrointestinal disorders. Recently, some of the Bacillus strains in Enterogermina, which is made up of aqueous suspensions of viable Bacillus spores, have been partially characterized and aligned with members of the Bacillus alcalophilus subgroup rather than with Bacillus subtilis, as previously reported. With a view toward verifying the original taxonomic position of the Enterogermina strains, we catalogued both phenotypic and genotypic traits exhibited by the four Bacillus strains isolated from the spore mixtures found in original commercial preparations dated 1975 and 1984 and commercial preparations now being propagated industrially. Analyses of physiological and biochemical traits, complete 16S rRNA gene sequences, DNA-DNA reassociation, tRNA intergenic spacer length polymorphism, single-strand conformation polymorphism of PCR-amplified spacer regions of tRNA genes, and randomly amplified polymorphic DNA led to the finding that all of the Enterogermina strains belong to a unique genospecies, which is unequivocally identified as the alkalitolerant species Bacillus clausii. Moreover, we provide evidence that in contrast to several reference strains of B. clausii, the strains constituting Enterogermina are characterized by a notable low level of intraspecific genome diversity and that each strain has remained the same for the last 25 years.     

Characterization of Bacillus probiotics available for human use

Bacillus species (Bacillus cereus, Bacillus clausii, Bacillus pumilus) carried in five commercial probiotic products consisting of bacterial spores were characterized for potential attributes (colonization, immunostimulation, and antimicrobial activity) that could account for their claimed probiotic properties. Three B. cereus strains were shown to persist in the mouse gastrointestinal tract for up to 18 days postadministration, demonstrating that these organisms have some ability to colonize. Spores of one B. cereus strain were extremely sensitive to simulated gastric conditions and simulated intestinal fluids. Spores of all strains were immunogenic when they were given orally to mice, but the B. pumilus strain was found to generate particularly high anti-spore immunoglobulin G titers. Spores of B. pumilus and of a laboratory strain of B. subtilis were found to induce the proinflammatory cytokine interleukin-6 in a cultured macrophage cell line, and in vivo, spores of B. pumilus and B. subtilis induced the proinflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor alpha and the Th1 cytokine gamma interferon. The B. pumilus strain and one B. cereus strain (B. cereus var. vietnami) were found to produce a bacteriocin-like activity against other Bacillus species. The results that provided evidence of colonization, immunostimulation, and antimicrobial activity support the hypothesis that the organisms have a potential probiotic effect. However, the three B. cereus strains were also found to produce the Hbl and Nhe enterotoxins, which makes them unsafe for human use.     

Production, purification and chemical characterization of the catecholate siderophore from potent probiotic strains of Bacillus spp

The aim of the present study was to characterize the probiotic qualities of Bacillus isolates and study their siderophore prior to possible siderophoregenic probiotic application for iron nutrition in animals and humans. Bacillus strains were selectively isolated from dairy waste and mango pulp waste. Best two siderophore positive isolates, JHT3 and DET6 showed high homology with Bacillus megaterium (98%) and B. subtilis (99%), respectively, using partial 16S-rRNA sequencing and biochemical characterization. These isolates produced catecholate type of siderophore under iron stressed conditions and were screened for probiotic properties as per WHO and FAO guidelines. Spores of these strains showed excellent tolerance in partially simulated gastrointestinal tract conditions and exhibited antimicrobial activity against organisms such as Staphylococcus aureus, Micrococcus flavus and Escherichia coli. Importantly, these isolates were susceptible to the most of the antibiotics tested, in conflict that they would not donate resistance determinants if administered in the form of probiotic preparations.     

Short-chain fatty acids and poly-β-hydroxyalkanoates: (New) Biocontrol agents for a sustainable animal production

Because of the risk of antibiotic resistance development, there is a growing awareness that antibiotics should be used more carefully in animal production. However, a decreased use of antibiotics could result in a higher frequency of pathogenic bacteria, which in its turn could lead to a higher incidence of infections. Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) have long been known to exhibit bacteriostatic activity. These compounds also specifically downregulate virulence factor expression and positively influence the gastrointestinal health of the host. As a consequence, there is currently considerable interest in SCFAs as biocontrol agents in animal production. Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are polymers of β-hydroxy short-chain fatty acids. Currently, PHAs are applied as replacements for synthetic polymers. These biopolymers can be depolymerised by many different microorganisms that produce extracellular PHA depolymerases. Interestingly, different studies provided some evidence that PHAs can also be degraded upon passage through the gastrointestinal tract of animals and consequently, adding these compounds to the feed might result in biocontrol effects similar to those described for SCFAs.     

益生芽胞杆菌肠道微生态学研究进展

芽胞杆菌作为微生态制剂的一种重要来源细菌,在维护人和动物肠道健康、促进微生态平衡方面起着重要的作用。但是对于益生芽胞杆菌的作用机制却知之甚少。近年来,人们对芽胞杆菌在肠道微生物调控方面做了大量的基础研究,随着芽胞杆菌肠道分子微生态学研究的不断深入,人们发现芽胞杆菌的芽孢能够在体内迅速萌发增殖,从而起到免疫促进、改善肠道菌群以及相关的代谢酶活性等生理作用。本文从芽胞杆菌在胃肠道中的分布与定植、芽胞杆菌在胃肠道中的增殖以及芽胞杆菌与肠道菌群之间的关系等三个方面综述了益生芽胞杆菌对肠道微生态的调控作用的最新研究进展,为指导芽胞杆菌作为微生态制剂机制研究和应用提供一定的理论参考。     

Screening for bacillus isolates in the broiler gastrointestinal tract

Spores from a number of different Bacillus species are currently being used as human and animal probiotics, although their mechanisms of action remain poorly understood. Here we describe the isolation of 237 presumptive gut-associated Bacillus spp. isolates that were obtained by heat and ethanol treatment of fecal material from organically reared broilers followed by aerobic plating. Thirty-one representative isolates were characterized according to their morphological, physiological, and biochemical properties as well as partial 16S rRNA gene sequences and screening for the presence of plasmid DNA. The Bacillus species identified included B. subtilis, B. pumilus, B. licheniformis, B. clausii, B. megaterium, B. firmus, and species of the B. cereus group, whereas a number of our isolates could not be classified. Intrinsic properties of potential importance for survival in the gut that could be advantageous for spore-forming probiotics were further investigated for seven isolates belonging to five different species. All isolates sporulated efficiently in the laboratory, and the resulting spores were tolerant to simulated gastrointestinal tract conditions. They also exhibited antimicrobial activity against a broad spectrum of bacteria, including food spoilage and pathogenic organisms such as Bacillus spp., Clostridium perfringens, Staphylococcus aureus, and Listeria monocytogenes. Importantly, the isolates were susceptible to most of the antibiotics tested, arguing that they would not act as donors for resistance determinants if introduced in the form of probiotic preparations. Together, our results suggest that some of the sporeformers isolated in this study have the potential to persist in or transiently associate with the complex gut ecosystem.     

Intestinal dysbacteriosis in antibacterial therapy and perspectives in treatment by antibiotic-resistant probiotics]

Effect of different antibiotics and standard antibacterial therapy regimes on intestine microflora was investigated. Lincozamides demonstrated the most negative effect. Early addition of probiotics to the treatment with antibacterials had positive effect. Susceptibility of 21 strains of normal microflora to 25 antibiotics was tested. Resistance to antibiotics of lactobacilli varied significantly (more among strains and less among species). It was shown that L. acidophilus (probiotic "Acilact") was resistant to metronidazole only. High resistance to antibiotics was shown for L. plantarum 8RA3, L. fermentum 90T4C (components of probiotic "Lactobacterin"), L. fermentum BL96, L. acidophilus BL and L. acidophilus (component of "Linex"). Susceptibility of microorganisms in complex formulation "Linex" to the modern antibiotics was low. It is concluded that the use of stable antibiotic-resistant strains of normal microflora is favorable as addition to antibiotic therapy.     

Horizontal gene transfer amongst probiotic lactic acid bacteria and other intestinal microbiota: what are the possibilities? A review

Probiotics are live cultures, usually lactic acid bacteria, which are ingested to promote a healthy gastrointestinal tract. These organisms require certain traits to survive and compete in this niche, but these traits may be transferred to other microbiota in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT). Similarly, virulence factors from pathogens may be acquired by probiotic strains. Bacteria have developed a plethora of methods to transfer genetic material between strains, species and genera. In this review, the possible factors that may be exchanged and the methods of exchange are discussed.     

Genetic engineering as a powerful tool to improve probiotic strains

Over the last decade, there has been increasing interest in the use of probiotic microorganisms. However, certain doubts have arisen around probiotics, because of the beneficial effects of these microorganisms are not clear yet, and in many occasions those beneficial effects have not been proven. Therefore, it would be of interest if these probiotic strains were able to acquire new attributes to allow them improve and increase their beneficial characteristics. Genetic engineering can be used for human applications; for instance, the resistance to antibiotics is removed and the probiotic bacteria are modified in its own DNA. This process can be achieved by: (1) the use of food-grade vectors derived from lactic acid bacteria and/or bifidobacteria cryptic plasmids, (2) the genes integration or deletion in the chromosome of the probiotic strain, by site-specific recombination using the attP/integrase system, or by homologous recombination, using either suicide vectors, (3) using the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) and the CRISPR-associated (Cas) nuclease. Through genetic engineering, the knowledge of probiotic strains as well as its use could be improved, and the doubts about probiotics could be crumped.     

Physiological characterization of non-<Emphasis Type="Italic">Saccharomyces</Emphasis> yeasts from agro-industrial and environmental origins with possible probiotic function

Probiotics are defined as live microorganisms, which when administered in adequate amount confer a health benefit to the host. Most of studied or commercialized probiotics contain bacteria and very few of them present yeast in its composition. In this last case, the microorganisms almost always belong to Saccharomyces genus. In the present study, it was of interest to screen among 103 non-Saccharomyces yeasts a candidate for probiotic by using in vitro and in vivo criteria. In vitro assays included growth at 37°C and production of antagonistic compounds against enteropathogenic indicators, and the in vivo assays evaluated the colonization ability of mouse gastrointestinal tract without pathologic consequences and the protective ability in mice experimentally challenged with Clostridium difficile. In conclusion, Pichia kluyveri strain 898 showed to be a potential candidate for probiotic use, based on the criteria cited above, particularly as demonstrated by its protective effect against experimental infection in mice. Interestingly, an in vivo inhibition against C. difficile observed in the animal models did not correlate with the results obtained with the in vitro assays.     

Use of antagonistic Bacillus subtilis bacteria for treatment of nosocomial urinary tract infections

Effect of Bactisporin--a probiotic, containing spores of aerobic Bacillus subtilis 3H bacterium--for complex treatment of patients with nosocomial urinary tract infections was studied. 68 Cultures of different species of conditionally pathogenic bacteria were isolated from urine of the patients. Susceptibility of the isolated cultures to antibiotics before and after application of B. subtilis 3H metabolites was determined. The metabolites were accumulated on potato-glucose agar (PGA) while bacterium was cultivated on kapron membranes placed on surface of the medium. Influence of obtained metabolites on isolated strains was assessed by cultivation of each strain in metabolites-rich PGA during 24 h. Metabolites of B. subtilis led to decrease in resistance of isolated uropathogenic microflora to antibiotics. Use of Bactisporin in complex treatment of nosocomial urinary tract infections resulted in accelerated elimination of causative microorganism.     

Bacteriophages and bacteriophage‐derived endolysins as potential therapeutics to combat Gram‐positive spore forming bacteria

Since their discovery in 1915, bacteriophages have been routinely used within Eastern Europe to treat a variety of bacterial infections. Although initially ignored by the West due to the success of antibiotics, increasing levels and diversity of antibiotic resistance is driving a renaissance for bacteriophage‐derived therapy, which is in part due to the highly specific nature of bacteriophages as well as their relative abundance. This review focuses on the bacteriophages and derived lysins of relevant Gram‐positive spore formers within the Bacillus cereus group and Clostridium genus that could have applications within the medical, food and environmental sectors.