Properties of different lactic acid bacteria isolated from Apis mellifera L. bee-gut

• Published in: Microbiological research Vol. 166; no. 1; pp. 1 - 13
• Main Authors: Carina Audisio, M., Torres, María J., Sabaté, Daniela C., Ibarguren, Carolina, Apella, María C.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Germany Elsevier GmbH 20-01-2011
• Subjects: American foulbrood; Animals; Anti-Bacterial Agents - pharmacology; Antibiosis; Apis mellifera; Apis mellifera L; Bacteriocins - biosynthesis; Bacteriocins - pharmacology; Bee-gut microbiota; Bees - microbiology; Biodiversity; Digestive tract; DNA, Bacterial - analysis; Enterococcus; Enterococcus - chemistry; Enterococcus - classification; Enterococcus - genetics; Enterococcus - isolation & purification; Enterococcus - physiology; Enterococcus faecium; Enterococcus faecium - genetics; Food; Genotype; Intestines - microbiology; Lactic acid; Lactic Acid - biosynthesis; Lactic acid bacteria; Lactobacillus; Lactobacillus - chemistry; Lactobacillus - classification; Lactobacillus - genetics; Lactobacillus - isolation & purification; Lactobacillus - physiology; Lactobacillus johnsonii; Listeria - drug effects; Metabolites; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Paenibacillus - drug effects; Paenibacillus larvae; Pathogens; Phenotype; Phylogeny; Polymerase chain reaction; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S - genetics; rRNA 16S; Surface Properties; Workers; Lactic acid bacteria; Bee-gut microbiota; Lactobacillus johnsonii; Apis mellifera L
• ISSN: 0944-5013; 1618-0623
• DOI: 10.1016/j.micres.2010.01.003

Eight strains belonging to
Lactobacillus spp. and five to
Enterococcus spp. were isolated from the gut of worker
Apis mellifera L. bees. Studies based on 16S rRNA sequencing revealed that AJ5, IG9, A15 and CRL1647 strains had a 99% identity with
Lactobacillus johnsonii, while SM21 showed a 99% similarity with
Enterococcus faecium.
L. johnsonii CRL1647, AJ5 and IG9 were high lactic acid producers (values were between 177 and 275
mM), and
in vitro they inhibited different human food-borne pathogens and
Paenibacillus larvae, the American foulbrood agent. This bacterium was the most sensitive to the lactic acid effect being inhibited by 44
mM of this metabolite.
L. johnsonii CRL1647, AJ5 and IG9 also presented important surface properties. These cells showed between 77% and 93% of auto-aggregation. The preliminary study of the chemical nature of the aggregating factors revealed that the molecules involved in the surface of each
L. johnsonii strain were quite complex; and something of a peptidic nature was mainly involved.
E. faecium SM21 produced bacteriocin-like compounds with anti-
Listeria effects. Furthermore, a band close to 6.0–7.5
kDA was detected by SDS-PAGE studies, and the entA, B and P structural genes were amplified by PCR reactions. For the first time, bee-gut associated
L. johnsonii and
E. faecium strains have been isolated, identified, cultivated and some of their functional properties reported.