Project description:The ability to produce diacetyl from pyruvate and l-serine was studied in various strains of Pediococcus pentosaceus and Pediococcus acidilactici isolated from cheese. After being incubated on both substrates, only P. pentosaceus produced significant amounts of diacetyl. This property correlated with measurable serine dehydratase activity in cell extracts. A gene encoding the serine dehydratase (dsdA) was identified in P. pentosaceus, and strains that showed no serine dehydratase activity carried mutations that rendered the gene product inactive. A functional dsdA was cloned from P. pentosaceus FAM19132 and expressed in Escherichia coli. The purified recombinant enzyme catalyzed the formation of pyruvate from L- and D-serine and was active at low pH and elevated NaCl concentrations, environmental conditions usually present in cheese. Analysis of the amino acid profiles of culture supernatants from dsdA wild-type and dsdA mutant strains of P. pentosaceus did not show differences in serine levels. In contrast, P. acidilactici degraded serine. Moreover, this species also catabolized threonine and produced alanine and α-aminobutyrate.
Project description:This report describes the first case of persistent bacteremia with endocarditis caused by Pediococcus acidilactici in a 32-year-old male with a history of short gut syndrome following a small bowel transplant. The results showed the utility of sequencing the intergenic spacer region for species identification and successful treatment using daptomycin.
| S-EPMC3295129 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Full genome analysis of lactic acid bacteria strains with excellent probiotic properties
Project description:We used a whole genome array containing 97.4 % of the annotated genes of Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM, a probiotic culture that belongs to the lactic acid bacteria group, to identify genes that are differentially expressed under several stress conditions. Keywords: Stress response
Project description:Pediococcus acidilactici MA18/5M is a commercially available probiotic that is widely used in swine, poultry, aquaculture feeds, and human dietary supplements. We prepared a genome sequence for this strain consisting of 2 scaffolds totaling 1,992,928 bases including gaps for a total of 3,346 bases and a G+C content of 42%.
Project description:Prediabetes (PreD), which is associated with impaired glucose tolerance and fasting blood glucose, is a potential risk factor for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D). Growing evidence suggests the role of the gastrointestinal microbiota in both PreD and T2D, which opens the possibility for a novel nutritional approach, based on probiotics, for improving glucose regulation and delaying disease progression of PreD to T2D. In this light, the present study aimed to assess the antidiabetic properties of Pediococcus acidilactici (pA1c) in a murine model of high-fat diet (HFD)-induced T2D. For that purpose, C57BL/6 mice were given HFD enriched with either probiotic (1 × 1010 CFU/day) or placebo for 12 weeks. We determined body weight, fasting blood glucose, glucose tolerance, HOMA-IR and HOMA-β index, C-peptide, GLP-1, leptin, and lipid profile. We also measured hepatic gene expression (G6P, PEPCK, GCK, IL-1β, and IL-6) and examined pancreatic and intestinal histology (% of GLP-1+ cells, % of goblet cells and villus length). We found that pA1c supplementation significantly attenuated body weight gain, mitigated glucose dysregulation by reducing fasting blood glucose levels, glucose tolerance test, leptin levels, and insulin resistance, increased C-peptide and GLP-1 levels, enhanced pancreatic function, and improved intestinal histology. These findings indicate that pA1c improved HFD-induced T2D derived insulin resistance and intestinal histology, as well as protected from body weight increase. Together, our study proposes that pA1c may be a promising new dietary management strategy to improve metabolic disorders in PreD and T2D.
