ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Food Microbiology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1664636
Isolation, probiotic properties, and whole-genome analysis of P. acidilactici M22 from feline milk: a promising candidate for simulated pet milk formulations
Provisionally accepted
- 1Shandong Key Laboratory of Applied Technology for Protein and Peptide Drugs, Institute of Biopharmaceutical Research, Liaocheng University, Liaocheng, China
- 2Pet Nutrition Research and Development Center, Gambol Pet Group Co.,Ltd., Liaocheng 252000, Shandong Province, P. R. China, Liaocheng, China
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Breast milk constitutes a rich source of bacteria essential for the establishment and modulation of neonatal microbiota, playing a critical role in neonatal health.However, probiotic strains are rarely identified in feline milk. This study successfully isolated Pediococcus acidilactici M22 from feline milk and comprehensively evaluated its potential as a probiotic candidate for simulated pet milk formulations.Strain M22 demonstrated high tolerance to acidic conditions (survival rates of 59.93%, 94.15%, and 95.06% at pH 2.5, 3.0, and 4.0, respectively) and bile salts (survival rates of 96.01%, 96.35%, and 84.38% at 0.1%, 0.2%, and 0.3% concentrations, respectively). Furthermore, M22 exhibited strong adhesion (69.23%) to Caco-2 intestinal epithelial cells, Strong suppression of Escherichia coli O157, Staphylococcus aureus, and Salmonella Typhimurium SL1344, a negative hemolytic phenotype, and sensitivity to antibiotics (e.g., gentamicin). Conversely, tests on C57BL/6 mice，which were randomly split into four groups, showed that giving M22 orally did not harm the mice, raised serum SOD levels, and lowered MDA and BUN levels. These findings indicate that oral administration of M22 significantly enhances the in vivo antioxidant capacity of mice. Further more, genomic analysis revealed 1,960 coding sequences , two CRISPR loci, five genomic islands, and two prophage regions. Collectively, these findings indicate that P. acidilactici M22 possesses significant potential as a probiotic to improve the health and well-being of pets.
Keywords: Ragdoll cat, Feline milk, Complete genome sequence, Probiotic properties, P. acidilactici
Received: 12 Jul 2025; Accepted: 12 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Gong, Wang, Chen, Wang, Han and Wen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Min Wen, Shandong Key Laboratory of Applied Technology for Protein and Peptide Drugs, Institute of Biopharmaceutical Research, Liaocheng University, Liaocheng, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.