Scholarlink

Background <p>Urban pigeons frequently carry zoonotic, antibiotic-resistant <i>Staphylococcus</i> spp. and are increasingly recognized as reservoirs of multidrug-resistant (MDR) gut pathogens with One Health implications. Probiotic <i>Bacillus</i> strains and their lipopeptide products, such as surfactin, are promising antibiotic-sparing alternatives, but their in vivo effects on host gut microbiota and pathogen carriage in apparently healthy birds remain poorly characterized.</p> Results <p>To explore alternative antimicrobial strategies, <i>Bacillus subtilis</i> 1–4 was isolated from soil and shown to produce surfactin, a potent antimicrobial peptide. In vitro, surfactin exhibited bactericidal activity against <i>S. aureus</i> and <i>S. intermedius</i> by compromising membrane integrity. To evaluate its in vivo effects, pigeons (<i>Columba livia</i>) were treated with surfactin for seven days, and changes in their gut microbiota were characterized using full-length 16&#xa0;S rRNA gene sequencing. While microbial α- and β-diversity remained largely unchanged, the surfactin-treated microbiota displayed enhanced compositional stability relative to controls.</p> Conclusions <p>These findings support surfactin’s potential as a targeted antimicrobial agent with minimal disruption to the host gut microbiota.</p>

错误：搜索内容不能为空，请输入英文关键词
错误：关键词超出字数限制，请精简
高级检索

Surfactin from Bacillus subtilis 1–4 disrupts the cell membrane of zoonotic staphylococcus intermedius in vitro and maintains gut microbiota community in urban pigeons

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

    开放获取

  • 发表日期：

    2026年4月1日

查看全文
  • Jia-Ho Shiu,
  • Bo-Chen Huang,
  • Hui-Jye Chen,
  • Yo-Chia Chen

摘要

Background

Urban pigeons frequently carry zoonotic, antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus spp. and are increasingly recognized as reservoirs of multidrug-resistant (MDR) gut pathogens with One Health implications. Probiotic Bacillus strains and their lipopeptide products, such as surfactin, are promising antibiotic-sparing alternatives, but their in vivo effects on host gut microbiota and pathogen carriage in apparently healthy birds remain poorly characterized.

Results

To explore alternative antimicrobial strategies, Bacillus subtilis 1–4 was isolated from soil and shown to produce surfactin, a potent antimicrobial peptide. In vitro, surfactin exhibited bactericidal activity against S. aureus and S. intermedius by compromising membrane integrity. To evaluate its in vivo effects, pigeons (Columba livia) were treated with surfactin for seven days, and changes in their gut microbiota were characterized using full-length 16 S rRNA gene sequencing. While microbial α- and β-diversity remained largely unchanged, the surfactin-treated microbiota displayed enhanced compositional stability relative to controls.

Conclusions

These findings support surfactin’s potential as a targeted antimicrobial agent with minimal disruption to the host gut microbiota.