Restriction lift date: 2027-09-30
Development of a synergistic synbiotic containing arabinoxylan and Bifidobacterium longum using in vivo selection
Loading...
Files
Date
2024
Authors
Jones, Evan
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University College Cork
Published Version
Abstract
Colonisation and metabolic activity of orally ingested bacteria in the colon rely on competitive ecological and niche-based factors that often limit the functionality of commonly used probiotics. Synergistic synbiotics, which involve the parallel administration of a microorganism with its cognate substrate, have the potential to improve persistence and ecological performance of putative probiotic microbes. However, real synergism has not yet been established for synbiotics in human trials, and most synbiotic combinations have not been designed using an approach that accounts for the ecological constraints of the GI tract. Here we use in vivo selection (IVS) to identify strains of Bifidobacterium longum that are adapted toward the utilization of arabinoxylan (AX) in the human gut. To achieve this, bifidobacteria were quantitatively cultured from fecal samples collected during a human trial which showed that a high dose of corn bran AX leads to a significant but highly individualised increase of B. longum. Isolates were randomly picked and genotyped by a rapid, high throughput gyrB sequencing method that was developed for this project. Bacterial counts and strain composition were compared between baseline and week 6, and B. longum strains enriched in vivo were then tested through in vitro fermentations to investigate their growth on AX and its constituents. These monoculture experiments confirmed the ability of representative isolates to use free arabinose, xylo-oligosaccharides (XOS) and the complete corn AX fibre, which suggests that these B. longum strains are primary AX degraders. Viable cell counts revealed a high level of consistency in growth patterns among the fecal isolates compared to reference strains on AX. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) of selected strains followed by comparative genomic analysis revealed an enrichment of relevant glycoside hydrolase family 43 (GH43) genes and the presence of three specific carbohydrate utilisation clusters associated with xylan and AX metabolism in a number of in vivo-selected isolates which was not observed in reference strains. Finally, gas production experiments helped to further characterise the fermentation profiles of the AX-degrading isolates and highlighted their capacity to facilitate cross-feeding with other members of the microbiota. This study demonstrates the value of an ecologically relevant process for selecting improved synbiotic combinations, with the B. longum strains identified here representing promising candidates based on their predicted ecological performance in vivo.
Description
Keywords
Bifidobacterium longum , In vivo selection , Synergistic synbiotic , Arabinoxylan
Citation
Jones, E. J. 2024. Development of a synergistic synbiotic containing arabinoxylan and Bifidobacterium longum using in vivo selection. MRes Thesis, University College Cork.