The current taxonomy of probiotic @entity880 bacteria is reviewed with special focus on the genera @entity13376 , @entity13854 and Enterococcus. The physiology and taxonomic position of species and strains of these genera were investigated by phenotypic and genomic methods. In total, 176 strains, including the type strains, have been included. Phenotypic methods applied were based on biochemical, enzymatical and physiological characteristics, including growth temperatures, cell wall analysis and analysis of the total soluble cytoplasmatic proteins. Genomic methods used were pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), randomly amplified polymorphic DNA-PCR (RAPD-PCR) and DNA-DNA hybridization for bifidobacteria. In the genus @entity13376 the following species of importance as probiotics were investigated: @entity9206 group, @entity6329 group and @entity6374 / @entity10688 group. Most strains referred to as @entity9206 in probiotic products could be identified either as @entity24046 or as @entity13376 , both members of the @entity9206 group. A similar situation could be shown in the @entity6329 group, where most of the strains named @entity6329 belonged to @entity6983 subspp. A recent proposal to reject the species @entity6983 and to include this species in the restored species @entity6329 with a neotype strain was supported by protein analysis. @entity13854 spp. strains have been reported to be used for production of fermented dairy and recently of probiotic products. According to phenotypic features and confirmed by DNA-DNA hybridization most of the bifidobacteria strains from dairy origin belonged to @entity14320 , although they were often declared as @entity13854 by the manufacturer. From the genus Enterococcus, probiotic Ec. faecium strains were investigated with regard to the vanA-mediated resistance against glycopeptides. These unwanted resistances could be ruled out by analysis of the 39 kDa resistance protein. In conclusion, the taxonomy and physiology of probiotic @entity880 bacteria can only be understood by using polyphasic taxonomy combining morphological, biochemical and physiological characteristics with molecular-based phenotypic and genomic techniques.

Taxonomy and physiology of probiotic XXXX bacteria.

@entity13376 :: ('33959', 'Species') :: ['Lactobacillus', 'L. johnsonii'] @entity14320 :: ('28025', 'Species') :: ['B. animalis'] @entity10688 :: ('1613', 'Species') :: ['L. fermentum'] @entity6329 :: ('1582', 'Species') :: ['L. casei'] @entity13854 :: ('216816', 'Species') :: ['B. longum', 'Bifidobacterium'] @entity6374 :: ('1598', 'Species') :: ['L. reuteri'] @entity24046 :: ('1596', 'Species') :: ['L. gasseri'] @entity9206 :: ('1579', 'Species') :: ['L. acidophilus'] @entity880 :: ('MESH:D019344', 'Chemical') :: ['lactic acid'] @entity6983 :: ('1597', 'Species') :: ['L. paracasei']
@entity880 :: (MESH:D019344,Chemical) :: ['lactic acid']
