Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are probiotic candidates that may restore the balance of microbiota populations in intestinal microbial ecosystems by controlling pathogens and thereby promoting host health. The goal of this study was to isolate potential probiotic LAB strains and characterize their antimicrobial abilities against pathogens in intestinal microbiota. Among 54 LAB strains isolated from fermented products, five LAB strains (NSMJ15, NSMJ16, NSMJ23, NSMJ42, and NFFJ04) were selected as potential probiotic candidates based on in vitro assays of acid and bile salt tolerance, cell surface hydrophobicity, adhesion to the intestinal epithelium, and antagonistic activity. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA genes showed that they have high similarities of 99.58–100% to Lacticaseibacillus paracasei strains NSMJ15 and NFFJ04, Lentilactobacillus parabuchneri NSMJ16, Levilactobacillus brevis NSMJ23, and Schleiferilactobacillus harbinensis NSMJ42. To characterize their antimicrobial abilities against pathogens in intestinal microbiota, the impact of cell-free supernatant (CFS) treatment in 10% (v/v) fecal suspensions prepared using pooled cattle feces was investigated using in vitro batch cultures. Bacterial community analysis using rRNA amplicon sequencing for control and CFS-treated fecal samples at 8 and 16 h incubation showed the compositional change after CFS treatment for all five LAB strains. The changed compositions were similar among them, but there were few variable increases or decreases in some bacterial groups. Interestingly, as major genera that could exhibit pathogenicity and antibiotic resistance, the members of Bacillus, Escherichia, Leclercia, Morganella, and Vagococcus were decreased at 16 h in all CFS-treated samples. Species-level classification suggested that the five LAB strains are antagonistic to gut pathogens. This study showed the probiotic potential of the five selected LAB strains; in particular, their antimicrobial properties against pathogens present in the intestinal microbiota. These strains would therefore seem to play an important role in modulating the intestinal microbiome of the host.

In this study, we sought to improve lutein and zeaxanthin production in Mychonastes sp. 247 and investigated the effect of environmental factors on lutein and zeaxanthin productivity in Mychonastes sp. The basic medium selection and N:P ratio were adjusted to maximize cell growth in one-stage culture, and lutein and zeaxanthin production conditions were optimized using a central composite design for two-stage culture. The maximum lutein production was observed at a light intensity of 60 μE/m²/s and salinity of 0.49%, and the maximum zeaxanthin production was observed at a light intensity of 532 μE/m²/s and salinity of 0.78%. Lutein and zeaxanthin production in the optimized medium increased by up to 2 and 2.6 folds, respectively, compared to that in the basic medium. Based on these results, we concluded that the optimal conditions for lutein and zeaxanthin production are different and that optimization of light intensity and culture salinity conditions may help increase carotenoid production. This study presents a useful and potential strategy for optimizing microalgal culture conditions to improve the productivity of lutein and zeaxanthin, which has applications in the functional food field.

Hyun-Jin Jang, Soon Lee, Eunmi Hong, Kyung June Yim, Yong-Soo Choi, Ji Young Jung, and Z-Hun Kim. J. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 2023;33:449-62. https://doi.org/10.4014/jmb.2211.11010

Hyun-Jin Jang, Kyung June Yim, Chang Soo Lee, Ji Young Jung, Hyun Ju Nam, Yeji Park, Yu Ho Kim, Jee-Hwan Kim, Su-Hwan Cheon, and Z-Hun Kim. Korean Society for Biotechnology and Bioengineering Journal 2022;37:159-65. https://doi.org/10.7841/ksbbj.2022.37.4.159