title: Prevalence of coaggregation reactions among chicken lactobacilli.
abstract: Interbacterial adherence was frequently encountered among chicken lactobacilli. Fourteen of 45 combinations involving nine adhering strains were shown to be coaggregative. The coadherence mechanism was mediated by complementary heat- and sonication-sensitive cell surface structures. It was shown that intrageneric adherence enabled lactobacilli to maintain higher numbers in fed-batch reactors simulating the gastrointestinal tract. The mechanism of coaggregation can substantially increase the colonization potential of lactobacilli in environments with short residence times.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Microbial Ecology, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, State University of Gent, Belgium.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Vandevoorde
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Christiaens
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Verstraete
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001422:Bacterial Adhesion; D002645:Chickens / Q000382:microbiology*; D004064:Digestive System / Q000382:microbiology*; D005427:Flocculation; D007778:Lactobacillus / Q000378:metabolism*