Membrane filter method to study the effects of Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium longum on fecal microbiota

Abstract

A large number of commensal bacteria inhabit the intestinal tract, and interbacterial communication among gut microbiota is thought to occur. In order to analyze symbiotic relationships between probiotic strains and the gut microbiota, a ring with a membrane filter fitted to the bottom was used for in vitro investigations. Test strains comprising probiotic nitto strains (Lactobacillus acidophilus NT and Bifidobacterium longum NT) and type strains (L. acidophilus JCM1132T and B. longum JCM1217T) were obtained from diluted fecal samples using the membrane filter to simulate interbacterial communication. Bifidobacterium spp., Streptococcus pasteurianus, Collinsella aerofaciens, and Clostridium spp. were the most abundant gut bacteria detected before coculture with the test strains. Results of the coculture experiments indicated that the test strains significantly promote the growth of Ruminococcus gnavus, Ruminococcus torques, and Veillonella spp. and inhibit the growth of Sutterella wadsworthensis. Differences in the relative abundances of gut bacterial strains were furthermore observed after coculture of the fecal samples with each test strain. Bifidobacterium spp., which was detected as the dominant strain in the fecal samples, was found to be unaffected by coculture with the test strains. In the present study, interbacterial communication using bacterial metabolites between the test strains and the gut microbiota was demonstrated by the coculture technique. The detailed mechanisms and effects of the complex interbacterial communications that occur among the gut microbiota are, however, still unclear. Further investigation of these relationships by coculture of several fecal samples with probiotic strains is urgently required.

Synbiotic Supplementation Modulates Gut Microbiota, Regulates β-Catenin Expression and Prevents Weight Gain in ob/ob Mice: Preliminary Findings

“…Bacteria of the genus Sutterella have often been associated with inflammatory bowel disease and disruption of intestinal epithelial homeostasis [36]. It is evident that the consumption of high-protein and high-sugar diets increases Sutterella abundance in the gut [37] and that probiotic supplementation reduces Sutterella abundance [38], which supports our findings in the lean treated group.…”

Distinct Gut Microbiota Composition and Functional Category in Children With Cerebral Palsy and Epilepsy

“…The co-occurrence network exhibited the negative correlations between bacteria enriched in healthy children (such as Bacteroides, Escherichia / Shigella , and Intestinibacter ) and those enriched in CPE patients (such as Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus , and Enterococcus ). These antagonistic relationships indicated that the dominance of Bacteroides would repress the overgrowth of Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus in individuals with mature GM (32). Probably due to its high diversity and abundance (33), Bacteroides participated in multiple metabolic pathways, including amino acid metabolism, energy metabolism, and lipid metabolism.…”

Microclimate shapes the phylosymbiosis of rodent gut microbiota in Jordan’s Great Rift Valley

“…Lower microbial diversity and abundance in the Sudanian region may be related to variations in air oxygen levels linked to low altitudes. Although there is evidence to support short-term increases in oxygen abundance reducing microbial diversity in lab cultures (Shimizu and Benno, 2015;Comolli et al, 2023), it is still unclear if the makeup of the gut microbiota is reacting to the availability of atmospheric oxygen or whether it is a consequence of environmental host adaptation. Investigation of predictions regarding the impact of climatic zones using the Random Forest machine-learning technique showed that the Sudanian bioclimatic zone had distinct or novel microbial taxa that are not found among conspecifics inhabiting other bioclimatic zones.…”