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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, August 2008, p. 4645-4649, Vol. 74, No. 15
0099-2240/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.00139-08
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Evaluation of Reuterin Production in Urogenital Probiotic Lactobacillus reuteri RC-14{triangledown}

Peter Cadieux,1,2 Anette Wind,3 Philip Sommer,4 Laura Schaefer,4 Kate Crowley,1 Robert A. Britton,4 and Gregor Reid1,2*

Lawson Health Research Institute,1 Department of Microbiology and Immunology and Department of Surgery, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada,2 Chr. Hansen, Horsholm, Denmark,3 Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan4

Received 15 January 2008/ Accepted 27 April 2008

Classified as a distinct species in 1980, Lactobacillus reuteri strains have been used in probiotic formulations for intestinal and urogenital applications. In the former, the primary mechanism of action of L. reuteri SD2112 (ATCC 55730) has been purported to be its ability to produce the antibiotic 3-hydroxypropionaldehyde (3-HPA), also known as reuterin. In the vagina, it has been postulated that probiotic Lactobacillus reuteri RC-14 does not require reuterin production but mediates a restoration of the normal microbiota via hydrogen peroxide, biosurfactant, lactic acid production, and immune modulation. The aim of the present study was to determine whether strain RC-14 produced reuterin. Using PCR and DNA dot blot analyses, numerous Lactobacillus species, including RC-14, were screened for the presence of the gene encoding the large subunit of glycerol dehydratase (gldC), the enzyme responsible for reuterin production. In addition, lactobacilli were grown in glycerol-based media and both high-performance liquid chromatography and a colorimetric assay were used to test for the presence of reuterin. L. reuteri RC-14 was determined to be negative for gldC sequences, as well as for the production of reuterin when cultured in the presence of glycerol. These findings support that the probiotic effects of L. reuteri RC-14, repeatedly demonstrated during numerous studies of the intestine and vagina, are independent of reuterin production.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Canadian Research and Development Centre for Probiotics, F2-116, Lawson Health Research Institute, 268 Grosvenor Street, London, Ontario N6A 4V2, Canada. Phone: (519) 646-6100, ext. 65256. Fax: (519) 646-6031. E-mail: gregor{at}uwo.ca

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 6 June 2008.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, August 2008, p. 4645-4649, Vol. 74, No. 15
0099-2240/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.00139-08
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.





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