Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG Genomic and Phenotypic Stability in an Industrial Production Process

Abstract

Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG is one of the best-studied probiotic strains. One of the well-characterized features of the strain is the pili encoded by the spaCBA-srtC1 gene cluster. These pili are involved in persistence in the gastrointestinal tract and are important for the probiotic properties of L. rhamnosus GG. Previous studies demonstrated that the L. rhamnosus GG genome can be unstable under certain conditions and can lose the spaCBA-srtC1 gene cluster. Since in vitro studies have shown that the loss of the spaCBA-srtC1 gene cluster decreases certain L. rhamnosus GG probiotic properties, we assessed both the genomic stability and phenotypic properties of L. rhamnosus GG throughout an industrial production process. We found that neither genomic nor phenotypic changes occurred in the samples. Therefore, we demonstrate that L. rhamnosus GG retains the spaCBA-srtC1 cluster and exhibits excellent genomic and phenotypic stability in the specific industrial process examined here.