Enterococcus isolated from poultry intestine for potential probiotic use

Area of Science:

• Microbiology
• Animal Science
• Probiotics

Background:

• Developing species-specific probiotics for poultry requires isolating microorganisms from their natural intestinal environment.
• This ensures probiotics are adapted to the actual conditions in broiler and egg-laying chickens.

Purpose of the Study:

• To isolate lactic acid bacteria (LAB) from the intestinal tracts of broiler and egg-laying chicks.
• To evaluate the probiotic potential of these isolated LAB strains.

Main Methods:

• Lactic acid bacteria were isolated from the small intestine mucus of broiler and layer chicks.
• Isolates were evaluated for resistance to low pH, bile salts, and antagonistic activity against pathogenic bacteria like *Escherichia coli* and *Salmonella* spp.
• Promising strains were identified using polymerase chain reaction and rDNA sequencing.

Main Results:

• 150 Gram-positive isolates were obtained, with *Enterococcus* spp. being the most prevalent (76.2%).
• Molecular characterization identified *Enterococcus faecium* (56%) and *Enterococcus faecalis* (44%) as key species.
• 36 LAB strains demonstrated probiotic qualities, including tolerance to low pH and bile salts, and antagonistic activity.

Conclusions:

• This research successfully isolated and characterized 36 LAB strains with significant probiotic potential from chicken intestines.
• *Enterococcus faecium*, *Enterococcus avium*, *Enterococcus casseliflavus*, and *Lactococcus garviae* were identified as promising candidates for further research.