Characterizing the potential of a Bacillus strain to inhibit bacterial pathogens and safely colonize poultry

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Food-borne pathogens such as Salmonella and Campylobacter spp. are commonly acquired by ingestion of undercooked meat, particularly poultry and pork products, or contamination of other foods with uncooked poultry or pork. It is a challenge to reduce the presence of these bacteria from animal hosts, as their gastrointestinal tracts can be naturally colonized by these pathogens without any cause of disease. As such, it is a challenge to find effective methods to reduce or inhibit colonization of these bacteria from the intestinal tract of livestock, particularly poultry and swine. There is thus an important need to develop innovative strategies to reduce and control such bacterial pathogens that are a burden to agriculture and food safety. ****Certain bacteria have been shown to exhibit inhibitory or antimicrobial effects against bacterial pathogens, and have been shown to be beneficial for exclusion of plant pathogens from certain crops or reduction of deleterious bacteria from animals. One group of bacteria that have shown promise are Bacillus spp., and the industrial partner , Biotechnologies Ulysse, has established methods of improving plant resistance to pathogens and improved plant growth using different bacterial strains. The purpose of this partnered project is to characterize one of these Bacillus strains for its capacity to inhibit food borne pathogens such as Salmonella and campylobacter in vitro, perform experiments to evaluate resistance on this bacterium to environmental conditions such as pH and temperature and test the safety of this bacterial strain in poultry and its capacity to colonize the chicken intestine. Establishing the properties of this strain and its ability to inhibit bacterial pathogens such as Salmonella and Campylobacter in vitro and its safety and colonization potential in chickens will validate the safety and potential of this Bacillus strain to serve as a beneficial bacterium that could be of use to reduce the presence of these pathogens from poultry and the food chain. **