title: Bacillus subtilis spores germinate in the chicken gastrointestinal tract.
abstract: A number of poultry probiotics contain bacterial spores. In this study, orally administered spores of Bacillus subtilis germinated in the gastrointestinal (GI) tracts of chicks. Furthermore, 20 h after spores were administered, vegetative cells outnumbered spores throughout the GI tract. This demonstrates that spore-based probiotics may function in this host through metabolically active mechanisms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Food and Environmental Safety, Veterinary Laboratories Agency, Woodham Lane, New Haw, Addlestone, Surrey KT15 3NB, United Kingdom. stephen.cartman@nottingham.ac.uk
authors.forename: Stephen T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Cartman
authors.forename: Roberto M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: La Ragione
authors.forename: Martin J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Woodward
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D000821:Animal Feed / Q000382:microbiology; D000818:Animals; D001412:Bacillus subtilis / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development*; D002645:Chickens; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D005516:Food Microbiology; D041981:Gastrointestinal Tract / Q000382:microbiology*; D019936:Probiotics; D012329:RNA, Bacterial / Q000096:biosynthesis; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013171:Spores, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D012329:RNA, Bacterial