Short communication Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis strains isolated from dog faeces Ve ˇra Bunes ˇova ´ a , Eva Vlkova ´ a, *, Vojte ˇch Rada a , S ˇ a ´ rka Roc ˇkova ´ a , Ivona Svobodova ´ b , Luka ´s ˇ Jebavy ´ b , Vladimı ´r Kmet’ c a Department of Microbiology, Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamy ´cka ´ 129, Prague 6-Suchdol 16521, Czech Republic b Department of Husbandry and Ethology of Animals, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamy ´cka ´ 129, Prague 6-Suchdol 16521, Czech Republic c Institute of Animal Physiology of Slovak Academy of Sciences, Soltesovej 4, 040 01 Kosice, Slovakia 1. Introduction The gastrointestinal environment is a complex inter- active system influenced by the host, ingested dietary components and numerous microbial species (O’Mahony et al., 2009). Probiotic bacteria contained in commercial products should be the functional and health-beneficial. An important factor is the dose of the ingested probiotics that will impact on the concentration found in the various parts of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT). Accord- ing to Biagi et al. (2007) composition of dog intestinal microflora is individually variable and depends on diet composition. The feeding of probiotics to dogs may improve animal health and reduce the risk of gastro- intestinal disorders. The use of bifidobacteria strains in the diet of dogs has received less attention. However, it is apparent that certain strains may exert some effect on dog microbiota. According to Baillon et al. (2004) administration of probiotic-supplemented feed for dogs was associated with increased numbers of faecal lactobacilli and decreased numbers of clostridial organ- isms. Additionally, O’Mahony et al. (2009) detected reduced Clostridium sp. and S. typhimurium after admin- istering of Bifidobacterium animalis. Some bifidobacterial species are host specific and therefore a successful dog probiotic organism would ideally be derived from the dog gastrointestinal tract (McCoy and Gilliland, 2007). The probiotic strain should be clearly identified and must be able to pass through the upper part of the GIT (Dunne et al., 2001). The adhesive ability of probiotics to intestinal mucus and to enterocytes is an important prerequisite for colonization of the host intestinal tract and is considered to be an important factor for antagonistic activity against enteropathogens (Leahy et al., 2005). Auto-aggregation properties are considered to be predictive for adhesion of bacteria to the intestine (Del Re et al., 2000). Veterinary Microbiology 160 (2012) 501–505 A R T I C L E I N F O Article history: Received 18 April 2012 Received in revised form 30 May 2012 Accepted 1 June 2012 Keywords: Bifidobacterium animalis ssp. lactis Dog faeces Probiotics Identification Characterization Auto-aggregation A B S T R A C T The aim of the study was to identify and characterize dog bifidobacterial isolates and compare them with commercial probiotic strains. Sixteen isolates of Bifidobacterium animalis ssp. lactis from dog faeces (German Shepherd Dog) were identified by subspecies- specific PCR, MALDI-TOF MS and sequencing. This study is the first describing B. animalis ssp. lactis occurring within the intestinal tract of dogs. Our dog isolates showed slightly different fingerprinting profiles obtained by RAPD-PCR and REP-PCR from those isolated from yogurt and type strains of B. animalis ssp. lactis. Both, dog and yogurt origin strains indicated survival in the simulated in vitro digestion assay and were resistant to low pH and bile salts. Moreover, strong auto-aggregation activity was observed only in dog origin B. animalis ssp. lactis strains. Dog strains showed good properties predicting their survival ability in GIT and could be tested as a potential new probiotics for dogs or other hosts. ß 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. * Corresponding author. Tel.: +420 2 24 38 27 55; fax: +420 2 24 38 27 60. E-mail address: vlkova@af.czu.cz (E. Vlkova ´). Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Veterinary Microbiology jo u rn al ho m epag e: ww w.els evier.c o m/lo cat e/vetmic 0378-1135/$ – see front matter ß 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.vetmic.2012.06.005