Dominance of Lactobacillus acidophilus in the facultative jejunal Lactobacillus microbiota of fistulated beagles.

Lactobacilli were isolated from jejunal chyme from five fistulated beagles. Cultivable lactobacilli varied from 10(4) to 10(8) CFU/ml. Seventy-four isolates were identified by partial 16S rRNA gene sequencing and differentiated by repetitive element PCR (Rep-PCR), Lactobacillus acidophilus was dominant, and nearly 80% of 54 isolates shared the same DNA fingerprint pattern.

Alteration of the canine small-intestinal lactic acid bacterium microbiota by feeding of potential probiotics.

Five potentially probiotic canine fecal lactic acid bacterium (LAB) strains, Lactobacillus fermentum LAB8, Lactobacillus salivarius LAB9, Weissella confusa LAB10, Lactobacillus rhamnosus LAB11, and Lactobacillus mucosae LAB12, were fed to five permanently fistulated beagles for 7 days. The survival of the strains and their potential effects on the indigenous intestinal LAB microbiota were monitored for 17 days. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) demonstrated that the five fed LAB strains survived in the upper gastrointestinal tract and modified the dominant preexisting indigenous jejunal LAB microbiota of the dogs. When the LAB supplementation was ceased, DGGE analysis of jejunal chyme showed that all the fed LAB strains were undetectable after 7 days. However, the diversity of the intestinal indigenous microbiota of the dogs, as characterized from jejunal chyme plated on Lactobacillus selective medium without acetic acid, was reduced and did not return to the original level during the study period. In all but one dog, an indigenous Lactobacillus acidophilus strain emerged as the dominant LAB strain. In conclusion, strains LAB8 to LAB12 have potential as probiotic strains for dogs as they survive in and dominate the jejunal LAB microbiota during feeding and have the ability to modify the intestinal microbiota.