Gohar Madeeha, Shaheen Nida, Goyal Sagar M, Mor Sunil Kumar, Rodriguez-R Luis M, Imran Muhammad
Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Quaid-I-Azam University, Islamabad, 45320, Pakistan.
College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, 55455, USA.
Probiotics Antimicrob Proteins. 2025 Mar 4. doi: 10.1007/s12602-025-10497-3.
Geotrichum candidum, a polymorphic fungus, exists in yeast, mold, and intermediate morphotypes, each with varying genome sizes and phenotypic traits. While G. candidum has been studied as a probiotic in dairy cattle and aquaculture, the differential probiotic potential of its morphotypes has not been fully investigated; therefore, the current study was designed to investigate their impact on the modulation of physiological and gut microbial diversity in BALB/c male mice. In this study, four strains of G. candidum were used, comprising two yeast morphotypes (QAUGC01 and UCMA3730), one mold morphotype (UCMA103), and one intermediate morphotype (UCMA91). BALB/c male mice were administered G. candidum yeast, intermediate, and mold morphotypes via drinking water for 4 weeks. After 4 weeks of experimentation, the yeast morphotype (QAUGC01) notably facilitated healthy weight gain compared to other groups. This was accompanied by significant increases in red blood cell count (p = 0.01). Importantly, QAUGC01 showed no detrimental effects on kidney function, as evidenced by significantly reduced CPK levels (77.25 ± 4.87 U/L) and low cholesterol levels (64.75 ± 0.83 mg/dL). Metagenomic analysis revealed that Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, and Proteobacteria were predominant bacterial phyla, while Ascomycota and Basidiomycota dominated the fungal populations. Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium were prominent in the gastrointestinal tract of QAUGC01-treated mice, while Lactococcus correlated with intermediate and mold morphotypes. Predictive functional annotation (PICRUSt2) has revealed the maximum relative abundance of metabolic pathways in mold and intermediate-supplemented mice gut. In contrast, the yeast morphotype (UCMA3730) exhibited a higher metabolic pathway activity in the large intestine. Conclusively, yeast morphotypes increase beneficial bacterial diversity, including Brevibacillus and Bacillus, particularly lactic acid bacteria throughout the gastrointestinal tract. These findings suggest that different G. candidum morphotypes have distinct probiotic potentials, with implications for enhancing gut health in food and feed applications.
白地霉是一种多态性真菌，以酵母、霉菌和中间形态类型存在，每种形态类型的基因组大小和表型特征各不相同。虽然白地霉已作为益生菌应用于奶牛和水产养殖中进行研究，但其不同形态类型的差异益生菌潜力尚未得到充分研究；因此，本研究旨在探讨它们对BALB/c雄性小鼠生理调节和肠道微生物多样性的影响。在本研究中，使用了四株白地霉，包括两种酵母形态类型（QAUGC01和UCMA3730）、一种霉菌形态类型（UCMA103）和一种中间形态类型（UCMA91）。通过饮用水给BALB/c雄性小鼠施用白地霉酵母、中间形态和霉菌形态类型，持续4周。经过4周的实验，与其他组相比，酵母形态类型（QAUGC01）显著促进了健康体重增加。这伴随着红细胞计数的显著增加（p = 0.01）。重要的是，QAUGC01对肾功能没有不利影响，这表现为CPK水平显著降低（77.25±4.87 U/L）和胆固醇水平较低（64.75±0.83 mg/dL）。宏基因组分析表明，厚壁菌门、拟杆菌门和变形菌门是主要的细菌门类，而子囊菌门和担子菌门在真菌种群中占主导地位。在经QAUGC01处理的小鼠胃肠道中，乳酸杆菌和双歧杆菌很突出，而乳球菌与中间形态和霉菌形态类型相关。预测功能注释（PICRUSt2）显示，在补充霉菌和中间形态类型的小鼠肠道中，代谢途径的相对丰度最高。相比之下，酵母形态类型（UCMA3730）在大肠中表现出更高的代谢途径活性。总之，酵母形态类型增加了有益细菌的多样性，包括短短芽孢杆菌和芽孢杆菌，尤其是整个胃肠道中的乳酸菌。这些发现表明，不同的白地霉形态类型具有不同的益生菌潜力，这对在食品和饲料应用中增强肠道健康具有重要意义。
