title: Enumeration of bifidobacteria in gastrointestinal samples from piglets.
abstract: The population of Bifidobacterium spp. in fecal samples from suckling piglets was investigated, and Beerens, raffinose-bifidobacterium (RB), and modified Wilkins-Chalgren (MW) agar media were evaluated with regard to the enumeration of bifidobacteria in porcine intestinal samples. The results demonstrated that the population of bifidobacteria in the feces of suckling piglets is numerically low, and a phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene from bifidobacterial isolates suggested that a possibly new Bifidobacterium species was isolated. Beerens, RB, and MW agar media were not selective for bifidobacteria in the fecal samples. The highest recovery and diversity of bifidobacteria were obtained for MW agar. Nonbifidobacterial isolates from the three agar media were identified and may contribute to the future formulation of improved selective media for the enumeration of bifidobacteria.
authors.affiliation: Danish Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Research Centre Foulum, DK-8830 Tjele, Denmark. LeneL.Mikkelsen@agrsci.dk
authors.forename: Lene Lind
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Mikkelsen
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bendixen
authors.forename: Mogens
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jakobsen
authors.forename: Bent Borg
authors.initials: BB
authors.lastname: Jensen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000833:Animals, Suckling / Q000382:microbiology*; D001431:Bacteriological Techniques; D001644:Bifidobacterium / Q000145:classification / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D003470:Culture Media; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000032:analysis; D004064:Digestive System / Q000382:microbiology*; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013552:Swine / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D003470:Culture Media; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S