title: Development and utility of the FDA 'GutProbe' DNA microarray for identification, genotyping and metagenomic analysis of commercially available probiotics.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Lactic acid bacteria are beneficial microbes added to many food products and dietary supplements for their purported health benefits. Proper identification of bacteria is important to assess safety as well as proper product labelling. A custom microarray (FDA GutProbe) was developed to verify accurate labelling in commercial dietary supplements.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Strain-specific attribution was achieved with GutProbe array which contains genes from the most commonly found species in probiotic supplements and food ingredients. Applied utility of the array was assessed with direct from product DNA hybridization to determine (i) if identification of multiple strains in one sample can be conducted and (ii) if any lot-to-lot variations exist with eight probiotics found on the US market.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  GutProbe is a useful tool in identifying a mixture of microbials in probiotics and did reveal some product variations. In addition, the array is able to identify lot-to-lot differences in these products. These strain level attribution may be useful for routine monitoring of batch variation as part of a 'Good Manufacturing Practices' process.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The FDA GutProbe is an efficient and reliable platform to identify the presence of microbial ingredients and determining microbe differences in dietary supplements. The GutProbe is a fast, rapid method for direct community profiling or food matrix sampling.
authors.affiliation: Division of Molecular Biology, Center for Food Safety & Applied Nutrition, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Muirkirk Rd Laurel, MD, USA.
authors.forename: J N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Patro
authors.affiliation: Division of Molecular Biology, Center for Food Safety & Applied Nutrition, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Muirkirk Rd Laurel, MD, USA.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ramachandran
authors.affiliation: Division of Molecular Biology, Center for Food Safety & Applied Nutrition, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Muirkirk Rd Laurel, MD, USA.
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Lewis
authors.affiliation: Division of Molecular Biology, Center for Food Safety & Applied Nutrition, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Muirkirk Rd Laurel, MD, USA.
authors.forename: M K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Mammel
authors.affiliation: Division of Molecular Biology, Center for Food Safety & Applied Nutrition, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Muirkirk Rd Laurel, MD, USA.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Barnaba
authors.affiliation: Division of Molecular Biology, Center for Food Safety & Applied Nutrition, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Muirkirk Rd Laurel, MD, USA.
authors.forename: E A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Pfeiler
authors.affiliation: Division of Molecular Biology, Center for Food Safety & Applied Nutrition, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Muirkirk Rd Laurel, MD, USA.
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Elkins
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D019587:Dietary Supplements / Q000032:analysis / Q000191:economics; D005838:Genotype; D056186:Metagenomics; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis / Q000379:methods*; D019936:Probiotics / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000145:classification / Q000191:economics; D014481:United States; D014486:United States Food and Drug Administration
keywords: Lactobacillus; genotyping; lactic acid bacteria; microarray; probiotics