Lactobacillus acidophilus
Classification
Higher order taxa
Bacteria; Firmicutes; Bacilli; Lactobacillales; Lactobacillaceae; Lactobacillus
Species
Lactobacillus acidophilus
Description and significance
In general, Lactobacilli inhabit the gastrointestinal (GI) tract of humans and animals. Lactobacilli are considered to have a probiotic effect that contributes to overall health and well being.
Of the Lactobacillus species, L. acidophilus is the most well known and is commercially distributed as a probiotic. L. acidophilus was first isolated from infant feces in 1900. It has been characterized as a short gram-positive rod (2-10μm), homofermentative and optimal growth temperatures of 37˚C-42˚C.
Further isolation and investigation into the physiological, biochemical, genetic, and fermentative properties have been widely explored in both humans and animals. The L. acidophilus strain, NCFM, has been commercially available in the United States as a probiotic strain since the mid-1970s.
Genome structure
The complete circular genome of the NCFM strain of L. acidophilus contains 1,993,564 nucleotides. The DNA GC content was determined to be 34.71%. There are 1,7864 ORFs and 72.5% have been classified functionally.
L. acidophilus NCFM contains no plasmids.
Cell structure and metabolism
Ecology
Pathology
Application to Biotechnology
Current Research
References
Edited by Jennifer B. Samore, student of Rachel Larsen and Kit Pogliano