An international team of experts, led by researchers from the University College of Cork, Ireland, has managed to decipher how certain probiotics are capable of colonizing our intestine to produce their beneficial effects inside it. One of the co-authors of this work –published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (doi: 10.1073/pnas.1105380108)– is Spanish scientist José Antonio Moreno, currently ICREA researcher at the Laboratory of R+D of the Ordesa Groupat the Barcelona Science Park.

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In this study, the researchers have sequenced the genome of Bifidobacterium breve UCC2003 –a bifidobacterium isolated from infant faeces- and have observed for the first time ever that bifidobacteria can produce appendixes that are similar to fingers –called “Tad pili”- which enable the colonization of the intestine. The presence of the genes that code the “Tad pili”in the genome of all studied bifidobacteria suggest that this is a common colonization mechanism in this type of probiotics.

According to scientist José Antonio Moreno “we have been able to identify a group of genes involved in the adherence of bifidobacteria and to demonstrate that these genes are only expressed when the bacterium is in the intestine, whereas when these genes are not expressed the probiotic loses its capacity to colonize the gastrointestinal tract”.

The universities of Parma (Italy), Helsinki (Finland), Dublin (Ireland) and Wageningen (Holland) have participated in the study, led by doctor Douwe van Sinderen (Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centri University of de Cork, Ireland), and its results have important implications for the functional foods and infant food industry.

“The perception of health benefits derived from the consumption of bifidobacteria has favoured their inclusion in the formulation of infant foods and functional foods. In spite of the commercial and scientific interest, knowledge on the reasons why and how these bacteria have a beneficial effect on our health is still limited. This research represents an advance in the knowledge of how bifidobacteria interact with the human intestine, while it provides clear evidence on the molecular mechanisms used by probiotics that produce beneficial effects on our gastrointestinal health” explains Dr. Moreno.

Probiotics are live microorganisms which, when consumed in sufficient quantities, produce a beneficial effect on their host’s health, such as protection against infections, inflammations, and allergies, which is why they are used in both dietary supplements and in foods. Within the group of probiotics, the Bifidobacterium genus is of great interest, given that the bacteria that belong to this bacterial genus are the first colonizers of the gastrointestinal tract of neonates, and numerically they are the dominant bacteria in the intestine of children who are exclusively breastfed. The colonization of the intestine by microorganisms play a very important role in metabolism, resistance to infections by pathogens, maturation of the gastrointestinal tract and the immune system of the neonate.