Investigation of probiotic properties of turkey originated Enterococcus faecium, Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus species

Purpose: In this study, it was aimed to isolate potential probiotic bacteria Lactobacillus spp., Enterococcus faecium and Bifidobacterium spp. from healthy turkey intestines and to investigate the potential of the isolated bacteria to be used as probiotics. Materials and Methods: In the study, the intestines of 100 turkeys at the slaughter stage in a commercial poultry slaughterhouse in Aydın were examined. In order to isolate Lactobacillus spp., Enterococcus faecium and Bifidobacterium bacteria from the samples taken from the intestinal mucosa, they were planted on selective media. Identification of suspicious colonies was done by PCR. Bile Tolerance Test was performed to determine the resistance of the isolated bacteria to 0.5-1.0% bile concentrations. The resistance status of the isolates to pH 3 and pH 5 was determined by the pH Tolerance Test. The hydrophobicities of the isolates were examined using 0.03% Congo Red agar. Antibiotic resistance of the isolates was determined by the Kirby Bauer Disk Diffusion Test using eight different antibiotic disks. Radial Diffusion method was used to investigate the antagonistic effects of the isolates against the pathogenic Escherichia coli isolate. Results: 14 Lactobacillus spp., 5 Enterococcus faecium and 5 Enterococcus faecalis were isolated from the samples, but Bifidobacterium spp. could not be isolated. All isolates were found to be resistant to 0.5-1.0% bile concentrations and pH 3-5. While the hydrophobicity test of 5 of 14 Lactobacillus spp. isolates gave negative results, it was determined that 9 of them were hydrophobic, 7 of 10 Enterococcus spp. isolates were hydrophobic and the majority of them did not show an antagonistic effect against E.coli. Conclusion: As a result of the study, it was determined that the majority of the isolates were hydrophobic and resistant to bile and low pH, but most of them were not sufficiently antagonistic against E.coli under the tested conditions. The presence of lactobacillus and enterococcus isolates showing multiple antibiotic resistance was determined. Keywords: Bifidobacterium, Enterococcus faecium, , Lactobacillus spp, Probiotic, Turkey