In:
Applied and Environmental Microbiology, American Society for Microbiology, Vol. 67, No. 9 ( 2001-09), p. 3819-3823
Abstract:
Bacterial spores are being consumed as probiotics, although little is known about their efficacy or mode of action. As a first step in characterizing spore probiotics, we have studied the persistence and dissemination of Bacillus subtilis spores given orally to mice. Our results have shown that spores do not appear to disseminate across the mucosal surfaces. However, we found that the number of spores excreted in the feces of mice was, in some experiments, larger than the original inoculum. This was an intriguing result and might be explained by germination of a proportion of the spore inoculum in the intestinal tract, followed by limited rounds of cell growth and then sporulation again. This result raises the interesting question of whether it is the spore or the germinated spore that contributes to the probiotic effect of bacterial spores.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
0099-2240
,
1098-5336
DOI:
10.1128/AEM.67.9.3819-3823.2001
Language:
English
Publisher:
American Society for Microbiology
Publication Date:
2001
detail.hit.zdb_id:
223011-2
detail.hit.zdb_id:
1478346-0
SSG:
12
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