Non-LAB Probiotics: Spore Formers

A growing body of evidence suggests that probiotics can be efficiently used to treat/prevent some illnesses, from gastro-intestinal or urogenital disorders to allergies, cardiovascular and autoimmune diseases and even to prevent the onset of certain cancers. Although Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) and bifidobacteria are the most common microbes used in probiotic preparations, yeasts and other bacteria are also widely used. This chapter focus on the use of bacterial spore formers as probiotics. Spore formers are a group of bacteria able to form an endospore (spore), an exceptionally resistant cell that contains all of the necessary genetic information needed to regenerate a new vegetative cell. Bacterial spores have been commercialized as probiotics for more than 50 years and are now extensively used in humans for the treatment of intestinal disorders and as dietary supplements, in animals as growth promoters and competitive exclusion agents and in aquaculture for enhancing the growth and disease-resistance of cultured fish and shrimps. This chapter will first describe the group of spore-forming bacteria, the sporulation process, the structure of the spore and its interactions with human intestinal and immune cells and then summarize the use of some spore former species as probiotics for human and animal use