Application of a multi-disciplinary approach that includes genomics (as well as transcriptomics and metabolomics) and in vitro studies to decipher the behavior of probiotic microorganisms, isolated from foods, as they interact with other microorganisms and with the human host (through human cell lines)

Probiotics are living microorganisms that once ingested can have a positive effect on human health. The positive effects on human health that have been described include modulation of immune response, decreased gastrointestinal infections, anticancer and antimutagenic properties, reduction of blood cholesterol.

Our research group has been working on microorganisms with probiotic properties, isolated from fermented food products such as cheeses, fermented sausages and olives.
Study of these microorganisms focuses on aspects related with survival within the gastrointestinal track, interaction with foodborne pathogens, interaction with human cells. The focus goes beyond the description of the phenotypic behavior of probiotics to unravel the molecular mechanisms underlying the probiotic potential, by employing molecular approaches (transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics).

Insights
Probiotics in Food - FAO

ORTO11HEXP: Probiotic potential of ecotypes of lactic acid bacteria isolated from artisanal fermented products (2012-2015)

• Ferrocino I., Biasato I., Dabbou S., Colombino E., Rantsiou K., Squara S., Gariglio M., Capucchio M.T., Gasco L., Cordero C.E., Liberto E., Schiavone A., Cocolin L. (2023) Lactiplantibacillus plantarum, lactiplantibacillus pentosus and inulin meal inclusion boost the metagenomic function of broiler chickens, Animal Microbiome, 5 (1), art. no. 36. DOI: 10.1186/s42523-023-00257-5
  
• Doublier S., Cirrincione S., Scardaci R., Botta C., Lamberti C., Giuseppe F.D., Angelucci S., Rantsiou K., Cocolin L., Pessione E. (2022) Putative probiotics decrease cell viability and enhance chemotherapy effectiveness in human cancer cells: role of butyrate and secreted proteins, Microbiological Research, 260, art. no. 127012 DOI: 10.1016/j.micres.2022.127012
  
• Botta C., Spyridopoulou K., Bertolino M., Rantsiou K., Chlichlia K., Cocolin L. (2022)
  Lactiplantibacillus plantarum inhibits colon cancer cell proliferation as function of its butyrogenic capability, Biomedicine and Pharmacotherapy, 149, art. no. 112755 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopha.2022.112755
  
• Bautista-Gallego,J., Ferrocino, I., Botta, C., Ercolini, D., Cocolin, L., Rantsiou,K. Probiotic potential of a Lactobacillus rhamnosus cheese isolate and its effect on the fecal microbiota of healthy volunteers (2019). Food Research International, 119, 305–314
• Botta, C., Acquadro, A., Greppi, A., Barchi, L., Bertolino, M., Cocolin, L., Rantsiou, K. Genomic assessment in Lactobacillus plantarum links the butyrogenic pathway with glutamine metabolism (2017). Scientific Reports, 7: 15975

Democritus University of Thrace (Greece)