Isolation and Identification of Saccharomyces cerevisiae from Caterpillar Frass and their Probiotic Characterization

Abstract

Probiotics are live microorganisms which upon ingestion confer health benefits to the host and are widely applied for human and animal welfare. The present study reports the isolation of yeast cells from caterpillar frasses and its probiotic characterization. Out of four yeast cultures isolated, all found to be non-hemolytic and cultures designated as CV-I, CV-II CV-III and CV-IV showed good bile tolerance at 1.2%. These cultures possessed the ability to grow pH range of 1.5 – 10, exhibited auto-aggregation and co-aggregation capabilities, which are essential for growth in alimentary canal and reduction of pathogen adherence on the intestinal epithelial cells. All cultures exhibited good tolerance to temperature up to 42°C. Isolate CV-I showed wide range of antimicrobial activities against pathogenic bacteria and fungi. This study is the first report of isolation and characterization of probiotic yeast from caterpillar frass. The isolate CV-I has been identified as Saccharomyces cerevisiae by molecular methods. This culture is an ideal candidate for further probiotic exploration.