Genomic and Phylogenetic Analysis of <i>Lactiplantibacillus plantarum</i> L125, and Evaluation of Its Anti-Proliferative and Cytotoxic Activity in Cancer Cells
Konstantinos Tegopoulos,
Odysseas Sotirios Stergiou,
Despoina Eugenia Kiousi,
Margaritis Tsifintaris,
Ellie Koletsou,
Aristotelis C. Papageorgiou,
Anthoula A. Argyri,
Nikos Chorianopoulos,
Alex Galanis,
Petros Kolovos
Affiliations
Konstantinos Tegopoulos
Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, Democritus University of Thrace, 68100 Alexandroupolis, Greece
Odysseas Sotirios Stergiou
Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, Democritus University of Thrace, 68100 Alexandroupolis, Greece
Despoina Eugenia Kiousi
Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, Democritus University of Thrace, 68100 Alexandroupolis, Greece
Margaritis Tsifintaris
Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, Democritus University of Thrace, 68100 Alexandroupolis, Greece
Ellie Koletsou
Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, Democritus University of Thrace, 68100 Alexandroupolis, Greece
Aristotelis C. Papageorgiou
Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, Democritus University of Thrace, 68100 Alexandroupolis, Greece
Anthoula A. Argyri
Institute of Technology of Agricultural Products, Hellenic Agricultural Organization DIMITRA, Sofokli Venizelou 1, Lycovrissi, 14123 Attiki, Greece
Nikos Chorianopoulos
Institute of Technology of Agricultural Products, Hellenic Agricultural Organization DIMITRA, Sofokli Venizelou 1, Lycovrissi, 14123 Attiki, Greece
Alex Galanis
Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, Democritus University of Thrace, 68100 Alexandroupolis, Greece
Petros Kolovos
Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, Democritus University of Thrace, 68100 Alexandroupolis, Greece
Lactiplantibacillus plantarum is a diverse species that includes nomadic strains isolated from a variety of environmental niches. Several L. plantarum strains are being incorporated in fermented foodstuffs as starter cultures, while some of them have also been characterized as probiotics. In this study, we present the draft genome sequence of L. plantarum L125, a potential probiotic strain presenting biotechnological interest, originally isolated from a traditional fermented meat product. Phylogenetic and comparative genomic analysis with other potential probiotic L. plantarum strains were performed to determine its evolutionary relationships. Furthermore, we located genes involved in the probiotic phenotype by whole genome annotation. Indeed, genes coding for proteins mediating host–microbe interactions and bile salt, heat and cold stress tolerance were identified. Concerning the potential health-promoting attributes of the novel strain, we determined that L. plantarum L125 carries an incomplete plantaricin gene cluster, in agreement with previous in vitro findings, where no bacteriocin-like activity was detected. Moreover, we showed that cell-free culture supernatant (CFCS) of L. plantarum L125 exerts anti-proliferative, anti-clonogenic and anti-migration activity against the human colon adenocarcinoma cell line, HT-29. Conclusively, L. plantarum L125 presents desirable probiotic traits. Future studies will elucidate further its biological and health-related properties.