Niche-specific adaptation of Lactobacillus helveticus strains isolated from malt whisky and dairy fermentations

Abstract

Lactobacillus helveticus is a well characterized lactobacillus for dairy fermentations that is also found in malt whisky fermentations. The two environments contain considerable differences related to microbial growth, including the presence of different growth inhibitors and nutrients. The present study characterized L. helveticus strains originating from dairy fermentations (called milk strains hereafter) and malt whisky fermentations (called whisky strains hereafter) by in vitro phenotypic tests and comparative genomics. The whisky strains can tolerate ethanol more than the milk strains, whereas the milk strains can tolerate lysozyme and lactoferrin more than the whisky strains. Several plant-origin carbohydrates, including cellobiose, maltose, sucrose, fructooligosaccharide and salicin, were generally metabolized only by the whisky strains, whereas milk-derived carbohydrates, i.e. lactose and galactose, were metabolized only by the milk strains. Milk fermentation properties also distinguished the two groups. The general genomic characteristics, including genomic size, number of coding sequences and average nucleotide identity values, differentiated the two groups. The observed differences in carbohydrate metabolic properties between the two groups correlated with the presence of intact specific enzymes in glycoside hydrolase (GH) families GH1, GH4, GH13, GH32 and GH65. Several GHs in the milk strains were inactive due to the presence of stop codon(s) in genes encoding the GHs, and the inactivation patterns of the genes encoding specific enzymes assigned to GH1 in the milk strains suggested a possible diversification manner of L. helveticus strains. The present study has demonstrated how L. helveticus strains have adapted to their habitats.

In ovo feeding of probiotic lactobacilli differentially alters expression of genes involved in the development and immunological maturation of bursa of Fabricius in pre-hatched chicks

“…In another study, supplementation of Lactobacillus species to chick embryos was shown to enhance cellular proliferation and increase the weight of lymphoid organs, including the spleen, thymus, and bursa of Fabricius, suggesting a possible role for probiotics in modulating the development of these lymphoid organs ( Madej et al, 2015 ). It is important to emphasize that probiotic lactobacilli isolated and reinoculated into the same host species (i.e., species-specific lactobacilli) demonstrated greater effectiveness compared to those isolated from different species ( La Reau et al, 2016 ; Kido et al, 2021 , Moeller et al, 2019 ). However, although much research focused on the effects of in ovo -delivered probiotics on immune responses and cellular and morphological changes in lymphoid organs of hatched chicks, there remains no clear evidence of whether lactobacilli influence the development and functional maturation of these organs in pre-hatched chicks at the molecular level.…”

Genetic and Biochemical Characterization of Six Lactobacillus Isolates from American Quarter Horses

“…In our view, to develop and select an effective probiotic consortium, it is important to use isolates that have been adapted to the host of interest, i.e., host-adapted (or species/specific) probiotic organisms. 13,14 The goal of this study is to isolate equine-specific lactobacilli from American Quarter horses at different stages of development and characterize their biochemical and genetic traits that allow them to survive and persist in the host. The American Quarter horses are the most popular breed in the United States of America (USA).…”

LiveMalasseziastrains isolated from the mucosa of patients with ulcerative colitis

“…However, in their study, Limon et al used M. restricta MYA-4611, synonymous with the M. restricta type strain CBS 7877, which may not properly represent the fungus within the gut environment because it was originally isolated from the human skin and not from the human gut 27 . In general, niche-specific metabolic adaptation, which is normally linked to genomic variations and niche-dependent gene expression, is a well-established phenomenon, particularly in bacteria, based on phenotypic and multiomics analysis [28][29][30] . Fungi also reside in various environments, including different niches within the human host, and multiple selective pressures, such as oxygen depletion, nutrient limitation, and pH fluctuation, lead to niche-specific adaptation 31,32 .…”