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Lactobacillus apis sp. nov., from the stomach of honeybees (Apis mellifera), having an in vitro inhibitory effect on the causative agents of American and European foulbrood At the present time, the bacterial genus Lactobacillus comprises more than 100 species and subspecies (Hammes & Hertel, 2009) and represents a large group of Grampositive bacteria within the phylum Firmicutes. Lactobacilli are well known as the main representatives of the lactic acid bacteria that occur in various carbohydrate-rich environments such as plant-derived materials, products of the dairy industry, the reproductive tract of women and the digestive tracts of mammals and insects (Hammes & Hertel, 2009;Forsgren et al., 2010). Lactobacilli are important members of healthy gastrointestinal tracts of animals, and some of them are used frequently as probiotics because of their beneficial influences on mammalian and human health (Zubillaga et al., 2001).It is supposed that lactobacilli, other lactic acid bacteria and bifidobacteria have a beneficial effect on honeybee health. For this reason, attempts to describe the occurrence of these bacteria in the digestive tract of these important pollinators have increased in recent years (Olofsson & Vásquez, 2008). Novel species of lactobacilli have been detected from the digestive tract of Apis mellifera and ApisThe GenBank/EMBL/DDBJ accession numbers for the 16S rRNA, atpA, hsp60, pheS, rpoA and tuf gene sequences of strain R4B T are KF386017, JQ363701, JQ363676, JQ363685, JQ363694 and JQ363711, respectively. The accession number for the 16S rRNA gene sequence of strain R4C is KF386018.

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Twenty-six bifidobacteria were isolated from faecal samples of lambs. The isolates were identified, functional properties (survival ability at low pH and bile conditions) and antimicrobial activities against potential pathogens were determined. From the isolates with suitable properties (13 strains) rifampicinresistant mutants were prepared by gradient plate techniques. This property enabled us to differentiate the administered organism from wild strains because resistance to rifampicin is rare among bifidobacteria. Rifampicin-resistant bifidobacteria (RRBifs) were administered to 3-days-old lambs in two trials. In the first trial the strain B. ruminantium L29 was applied to 3 lambs and was detected in faecal samples at high counts (6 log CFU/g on average) for one week. In the second trial 3 lambs received a "cocktail" of 12 strains and RRBifs survived in the intestinal tract at counts of about 6 log CFU/g for 25 days. The control group without probiotic treatment consisted of 6 animals. In both treated groups RRBifs dominated among bifidobacteria after their administration. Total bifidobacterial counts (5.64-7.32 log CFU/g) were significantly higher (P < 0.05) in treated groups compared to 2.31-2.85 log CFU/g detected in the control group during the first month of lamb life. Lactobacilli counts were also significantly higher (P < 0.05) in treated groups compared to the control. The administered bifidobacteria did not affect any other monitored bacterial groups. On the basis of in vitro test results, suitable probiotic bifidobacterial strains for lambs were chosen. Some of them survived for 30 days in the gastrointestinal tract of treated lambs, but no tested strain was able to colonise the lamb's tract permanently. The administration of bifidobacterial "cocktail" and consequent identification of the best survived strain seems to be an effective method for selection of potential probiotics.