BACKGROUND Recent research suggests integration of the intestinal microbiota in gut-brain communication which could lead to new approaches to treat neurological disorders. The highly social prairie voles are an excellent model system to study the effects of environmental factors on social behavior. For future studies on the role of probiotics in ameliorating disorders with social withdrawal sym...

John B. S. Haldane (1892-1964), noted British geneticist, physiologist, and popularizer of science, established new paths of research in population genetics and evolution. Emphasizing the immensity of the Milky Way in the night sky and the fact that there were 400,000 species of beetles but only 8,000 species of mammals, he is reported to have said, “If one could conclude as to the nature of th...

BACKGROUND Anthrax is caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis and is regarded as one of the most prominent bioterrorism threats. Anthrax toxicity is induced by the tripartite toxin complex, composed of the receptor-binding anthrax protective antigen and the two enzymatic subunits, lethal factor and edema factor. Recombinant lactobacilli have previously been used to deliver antibody fragments...

The human vaginal microbiome is dominated by bacteria from the genus Lactobacillus, which create an acidic environment thought to protect women against sexually transmitted pathogens and opportunistic infections. Strikingly, lactobacilli dominance appears to be unique to humans; while the relative abundance of lactobacilli in the human vagina is typically >70%, in other mammals lactobacilli rar...

BACKGROUND The increasing interest in probiotic lactobacilli in health maintenance has raised the question of potential risks. One possible side effect could be an increased acidogenicity in dental plaque. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of probiotic lactobacilli on plaque lactic acid (LA) production in vitro and in vivo. METHODS In the first part (A), suspensions of two l...

During the past few years several investigators have reported the isolation of lactobacilli or lactobacilli-like organisms from the rumen liquor of cattle and sheep. Gall and Huhtanen (1951) isolated several gram positive, nonsporeforming rods from rumen fluid which produced lactic acid from glucose, but they were not further identified. Some lactobacilli found by Rodwell (1953) in a sheep's ru...

As probiotics in the gut, Lactobacilli are believed to play important roles in the development and maintenance of both the mucosal and systemic immune system of the host. This study was aimed to investigate the immuno-modulatory function of candiate lactobacilli on T cells. Lactobacilli were isolated from healthy human feces and the microbiological characteristics were identified by API 50 CHL ...

Lactobacilli belong to the genus Lactobacillus, the largest genus among the lactic acid bacteria (LAB). They are abundant in plant material and food resources, or they may inhabit niches in or on the bodies of humans and animals, as commensals. Lactobacilli of food origin are commercially important in the production of dairy products, fermented meats, vegetables, and sourdough, and many of thei...