Antibiotic susceptibility of different lactic acid bacteria strains

Five lactic acid bacteria (LAB) strains belonging to species Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus helveticus, Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus, Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. lactis and Streptococcus thermophilus were tested for their susceptibility to 27 antibiotics. The minimum inhibitory concentrations of each antimicrobial were determined using a microdilution test. Among the strains a high susceptibility was detected for most of the cell-wall synthesis inhibitors (penicillins, cefoxitin and vancomycin) and resistance toward inhibitors of DNA synthesis (trimethoprim/sulfonamides and fluoroquinolones). Generally, the Lactobacillus strains were inhibited by antibiotics such as chloramphenicol, erythromycin and tetracycline at breakpoint levels lower or equal to the levels defined by the European Food Safety Authority. Despite the very similar profile of S. thermophilus LC201 to lactobacilli, the detection of resistance toward erythromycin necessitates the performance of additional tests in order to prove the absence of transferable resistance genes.