In Vivo Evolution of Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus GG Leads to Prolonged Persistence in the Digestive Tract

ABSTRACT This study explored in vivo evolution as a method to generate evolutionary clones of Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus GG, a renowned probiotic organism found in many food supplements, with improved persistence in the intestinal tract. L. rhamnosus GG was autologously gavaged to mice and subsequ...

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Main Authors: Alexander Mark, Lorenzo Tosi, Lamia Chkaiban, Raphaela Bento, Biju Parekkadan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2025-03-01
Series:Food Bioengineering
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1002/fbe2.70002
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author Alexander Mark
Lorenzo Tosi
Lamia Chkaiban
Raphaela Bento
Biju Parekkadan
author_facet Alexander Mark
Lorenzo Tosi
Lamia Chkaiban
Raphaela Bento
Biju Parekkadan
author_sort Alexander Mark
collection DOAJ
description ABSTRACT This study explored in vivo evolution as a method to generate evolutionary clones of Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus GG, a renowned probiotic organism found in many food supplements, with improved persistence in the intestinal tract. L. rhamnosus GG was autologously gavaged to mice and subsequently selected and grown ex vivo after passage through the intestinal tract to form two evolutionary isolates of the bacteria. A longer retention time (nearly 3×) and a slower elimination rate of the bacteria in the mouse gut were observed with each evolution. The evolutionary isolates were further characterized for key traits such as bile salt resistance, epithelial cell binding, and genetic alterations to understand potential changes to known persistence mechanisms. Finally, a series of heterologous gavages were performed to determine if the increased retention of the evolutionary variants were because of animal‐specific host adaptations. Similar results were seen following heterologous gavages, supporting the concept that intrinsic changes to Lacticaseibacillus occurred. Based on these findings, in vivo evolution shows promise as a technique to generate probiotic strains with improved traits for gut retention as compared to the wild type.
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issn 2770-2081
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series Food Bioengineering
spelling doaj-art-ade62fe7463e45f49c8ea1a138cf358b2025-08-20T03:18:45ZengWileyFood Bioengineering2770-20812025-03-0141395210.1002/fbe2.70002In Vivo Evolution of Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus GG Leads to Prolonged Persistence in the Digestive TractAlexander Mark0Lorenzo Tosi1Lamia Chkaiban2Raphaela Bento3Biju Parekkadan4Department of Chemical Engineering Rutgers University Piscataway New Jersey USADepartment of Biomedical Engineering Rutgers University Piscataway New Jersey USADepartment of Biomedical Engineering Rutgers University Piscataway New Jersey USADepartment of Biomedical Engineering Rutgers University Piscataway New Jersey USADepartment of Chemical Engineering Rutgers University Piscataway New Jersey USAABSTRACT This study explored in vivo evolution as a method to generate evolutionary clones of Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus GG, a renowned probiotic organism found in many food supplements, with improved persistence in the intestinal tract. L. rhamnosus GG was autologously gavaged to mice and subsequently selected and grown ex vivo after passage through the intestinal tract to form two evolutionary isolates of the bacteria. A longer retention time (nearly 3×) and a slower elimination rate of the bacteria in the mouse gut were observed with each evolution. The evolutionary isolates were further characterized for key traits such as bile salt resistance, epithelial cell binding, and genetic alterations to understand potential changes to known persistence mechanisms. Finally, a series of heterologous gavages were performed to determine if the increased retention of the evolutionary variants were because of animal‐specific host adaptations. Similar results were seen following heterologous gavages, supporting the concept that intrinsic changes to Lacticaseibacillus occurred. Based on these findings, in vivo evolution shows promise as a technique to generate probiotic strains with improved traits for gut retention as compared to the wild type.https://doi.org/10.1002/fbe2.70002intestinal drug deliverymicrobiomeprobioticsstrain engineering
spellingShingle Alexander Mark
Lorenzo Tosi
Lamia Chkaiban
Raphaela Bento
Biju Parekkadan
In Vivo Evolution of Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus GG Leads to Prolonged Persistence in the Digestive Tract
Food Bioengineering
intestinal drug delivery
microbiome
probiotics
strain engineering
title In Vivo Evolution of Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus GG Leads to Prolonged Persistence in the Digestive Tract
title_full In Vivo Evolution of Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus GG Leads to Prolonged Persistence in the Digestive Tract
title_fullStr In Vivo Evolution of Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus GG Leads to Prolonged Persistence in the Digestive Tract
title_full_unstemmed In Vivo Evolution of Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus GG Leads to Prolonged Persistence in the Digestive Tract
title_short In Vivo Evolution of Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus GG Leads to Prolonged Persistence in the Digestive Tract
title_sort in vivo evolution of lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus gg leads to prolonged persistence in the digestive tract
topic intestinal drug delivery
microbiome
probiotics
strain engineering
url https://doi.org/10.1002/fbe2.70002
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