Isolation, probiotic characterization and genomic analysis of Enterococcus durans VIT3 from edible curd.

Abstract

Enterococcus species are recognized as probiotics with well-documented beneficial effects on human health. We aimed to isolate Enterococcus species from edible curd, a commonly consumed food product. The isolated bacterium is identified to be Enterococcus durans VIT3 by Oxford nanopore sequencing. The isolate is susceptible to commonly used antibiotics with no hemolysis activity. The isolate exhibited probiotic characteristics, like resistance to acid and bile, significant adhesion capability, auto-aggregation, and antimicrobial activity against pathogenic bacteria such as C. violaceum, S. mutans, S. enterica and S. aureus. E. durans VIT3 can efficiently scavenge the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical, shows a potential anti-oxidant activity. Whole genome analysis revealed a total length of 3.2 Mb with 37.9 average GC content, which included genes associated with probiotic functions.