ArticlePloS one2019
Strain-level diversity of commercial probiotic isolates of Bacillus, Lactobacillus, and Saccharomyces species illustrated by molecular identification and phenotypic profiling.
Article in PloS one, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers.
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Who cites it
21 citing papers in PubMed.
- A Review of Probiotic Interventions for Necrotizing Enterocolitis and Sepsis in Preterm Infants.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- OvercomingFrontiers in antibiotics · 2026Review
- Probiotic and Technological Potential of Native Lactic Acid Bacteria Strains from High Andean Forest Bee Bread: In Vitro Study.Plant foods for human nutrition (Dordrecht, Netherlands) · 2025Article
- Strain-level variation among vaginal Lactobacillus crispatus and Lactobacillus iners as identified by comparative metagenomics.NPJ biofilms and microbiomes · 2025Article
- Effect of Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus coagulans spores on induced allergic contact dermatitis in dogs.Veterinary medicine and science · 2024Article
- Influence of connatural factors in shaping vaginal microflora and ensuring its health.Archives of gynecology and obstetrics · 2024Review
- Recent and Advanced DNA-Based Technologies for the Authentication of Probiotic, Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) and Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) Fermented Foods and Beverages.Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Genetic basis for probiotic yeast phenotypes revealed by nanopore sequencing.G3 (Bethesda, Md.) · 2023Article
- In Vivo Toxicity Assessment of the ProbioticNutrients · 2023Article
- Microbiological Testing of Probiotic Preparations.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Review
- Compositional Quality and Possible Gastrointestinal Performance of Marketed Probiotic Supplements.Probiotics and antimicrobial proteins · 2022Article
- Therapeutic Anti-Depressant Potential of Microbial GABA Produced byCurrent issues in molecular biology · 2022Review
- Targeted Delivery of Probiotics: Perspectives on Research and Commercialization.Probiotics and antimicrobial proteins · 2022Review
- Microbiological Quality and Resistance to an Artificial Gut Environment of Two Probiotic Formulations.Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- The role of the microbiome in gastrointestinal inflammation.Bioscience reports · 2021Article
- Characterization of Lactic Acid Bacteria in Raw Buffalo Milk: a Screening for Novel Probiotic Candidates and Their Transcriptional Response to Acid Stress.Probiotics and antimicrobial proteins · 2021Article
- Evaluation of Dietary Supplements Containing Viable Bacteria by Cultivation/MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry and PCR Identification.Frontiers in microbiology · 2021Article
- Psychobiotic Effects of Multi-Strain Probiotics Originated from Thai Fermented Foods in a Rat Model.Food science of animal resources · 2020Article
- Molecular Routes to Specific Identification of the Lactobacillus Casei Group at the Species, Subspecies and Strain Level.International journal of molecular sciences · 2020Article
- Identification and Growth Characterization of a Novel Strain ofFrontiers in nutrition · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Probiotic products are becoming more prevalent as awareness of the role of beneficial microbes in health increases. Ingredient labels of these products often omit identifications at the strain level, making it difficult to track down applicable published research. In this study, we investigated whether products labeled with the same species name contained different strains of those species. From 21 commercially available probiotic supplements and beverages, we cultured five main species: Bacillus coagulans, Bacillus subtilis, Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus rhamnosus, and the yeast Saccharomyces boulardii. To confirm the identity of each bacterial isolate, we applied standard molecular approaches: 16S rRNA gene sequencing and Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization Time-of-Flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). Phenotypic profiling and identification were performed with the Biolog Microbial Identification system. All of the bacterial isolates were correctly identified by at least one approach. Sequencing the 16S rRNA gene led to 82% of species identifications matching the product label, with 71% of isolates identified by MALDI-TOF MS and 60% identified correctly with the Biolog system. Analysis of the Biolog phenotypic profiles revealed different patterns of carbon source usage by each species, with sugars preferentially utilized by all except B. subtilis. To assess the strain-level differences, we compared strains of the same species and found variability in carbohydrate utilization and tolerance to environmental stressors (salt, acidity, antibiotics). By demonstrating that products listing the same species often contain strains with different 16S sequences and phenotypes, this study highlights that current labels of probiotic supplements do not sufficiently convey the strain diversity in these products.
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