Molecular characteristics, immunimodulating properties and health benefit mechanisms of Bulgarian lactobacilles from various environmental niches 

The project’s main objective is to find Bulgarian strains of lactobacilles with scientifically proven probiotic properties and to study the molecular mechanisms of their health benefits.

To achieve the main objective, the company implements work programs dedicated to characterizing newly isolated strains from different environmental niches using modern genetic methods (AFLP, PFGE, DGGE, sequencing), by studying the immunomodulating properties of the lactobacilles (cell-lines, splenocytes, cytokinesassay by ELISA andreal-timePCR), their propensity to adhere to the colonic epithelium (epithelia cell-lines), their antimicrobial activity against harmful micro flora, and their survivability in the gastrointestinal tract (invivo, specific genetic markers, real-time PCR).

The company has successfully developed specific genetic markers to be used to verify the presence of probiotic strains in foods and in the gastrointestinal tract. Some of the most significant results from the project include: researching the molecular basis for the immunostimulating effect of select Bulgarian strains, identifying the mechanisms for adhering to the intestinal epithelium, and characterizing the resulting antimicrobial substances using modern molecular methods.

The project is co-funded by the Ministry of Education (2009-2011).