Microsoft Word - 30-Agra_18084.doc 1678 Original Article Biosci. J., Uberlândia, v. 29, Supplement 1, p. 1678-1686, Nov. 2013 EVALUATION OF ADHESIVE PROPERTIES OF PRESUMPTIVE PROBIOTIC Lactobacillus plantarum STRAINS AVALIAÇÃO DAS PROPRIEDADES DE ADESÃO DE PRESUMÍVEIS ESTIRPES PROBIÓTICAS DE Lactobacillus plantarum Francesca Silva DIAS 1 ; Whasley Ferreira DUARTE 2 ; Rosane Freitas SCHWAN 3 1. Médica Veterinária, Professora Adjunta do Colegiado de Medicina Veterinária, Universidade Federal do Vale do São Francisco – UNIVASF, Petrolina, PE, Brasil. francesca.nobre@univasf.edu.br; 2. Engenheiro Agrônomo, Professor Adjunto do Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Federal de Lavras – UFLA, Lavras, MG, Brasil; 3. Engenheira Agrônoma, Professora Associada do Departamento de Biologia - UFLA, Lavras, MG, Brasil. ABSTRACT: Thirty-two strains of Lactobacillus plantarum UFLA SAU from pork sausages, pre-selected for some features for probiotic application, were utilized in this study to evaluate their adhesive properties and compare the results against the three pathogens also tested. Strains were tested for autoaggregation and coaggregation capacity and Microbial Adhesion To Solvents (MATS) at the time intervals of 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4 h. Our findings revealed that UFLA SAU strains have a high autoaggregative capacity and coaggregative ability with pathogens, especially Listeria monocytogenes. In relation to adhesion to solvents, in general, L. plantarum strains showed hydrophilic cell surface properties and an important electron donor and basic character. Adhesive properties were markedly separated for the strains under study by Principal Component Analysis software. UFLA SAU 132, 226 and 87 were differentiated by autoaggregation ability. UFLA SAU 11 and Listeria monocytogenes were characterized by adhesion to solvents. UFLA SAU 14, 18 and 172 showed high coaggregation with Escherichia coli, Salmonella Typhi and Listeria monocytogenes. In comparison to the pathogens tested, many UFLA SAU strains presented higher adhesive capacity. These tests should be used for screening and identifying potentially adherent microorganisms. Adhesive properties are important features for the choice of probiotic strains and confer various applications, such as in the pharmaceutical (therapeutic or prophylactic) and food (functional foods) industries. KEYWORDS: Lactobacillus plantarum. Autoaggregation. Coaggregation. Adhesion to solvents. INTRODUCTION Lactobacillus plantarum is a member of the facultatively heterofermentative group of lactobacilli. It is a heterogeneous and versatile species that is encountered in a variety of environmental niches, including dairy, meat, fish, and many vegetable or plant fermentations. Moreover, strains of L. plantarum have proven ability in surviving gastric transit and colonizing the intestinal tract of humans and other mammals (DE VRIES et al., 2006; GEORGIEVA et al., 2009). The species has been evaluated for its probiotic potential and it is applied as adjunct cultures in various types of food products or in therapeutic preparations. L. plantarum strains are used in commercial probiotics in the market characterizing health products (DE VRIES et al., 2006; LEE et al. 2011; JENSEN et al. 2012). In the screening process for new probiotic strains, there are no clearly established bacterial phenotypic markers that could be used for prediction of the health promotion capacity of lactobacilli (VOLTAN et al., 2007; KOTZAMANIDIS. et al., 2010). However, for the strain to exert a beneficial health effect, its adherence in the intestine of the host is required. Thus, the adhesion ability to the intestinal epithelium is one of the most important characteristics of lactobacilli, as well as one of the main criteria for selecting probiotic strains (OUWEHAND et al., 1999; CANDELA et al., 2008). Bacterial adhesion is initially based on non-specific physical interactions between two surfaces, which then enable specific interactions between adhesins (usually proteins) and complementary receptors (PÉREZ et al. 1998; BOS et al. 1999). Autoaggregation of probiotic strains is necessary for adhesion to intestinal epithelial cells, and coaggregation abilities may form a barrier that prevents colonization by pathogenic microorganisms (DEL RE et al. 2000; KOTZAMANIDIS et al., 2010). Physicochemical characteristics of the cell surface, such as hydrophobicity and charges, may affect autoaggregation and adhesion of bacteria to different surfaces (DEL RE et al. 2000; GIAOURIS et al., 2009). The correlation between hydrophobicity and adhesion ability has been observed in some lactobacilli (DEL RE et al. 2000; GIAOURIS et al., 2009; KOTZAMANIDIS et al., Received: 18/09/12 Accepted: 03/13/13 1679 Avaluation of adhesive properties… DIAS, F. S.; DUARTE, W. F.; SCHWAN, R. F. Biosci. J., Uberlândia, v. 29, Supplement 1, p. 1678-1686, Nov. 2013 2010). The aim of this study was to further investigate the in vitro adhesion capacity of 32 presumptive probiotic UFLA SAU Lactobacillus plantarum strains isolated from pork sausages by tests of autoaggregation, coaggregation and Microbial Adhesion To Solvents (MATS) and compare the results against the three pathogens also tested. MATERIAL AND METHODS Bacterial strains and growth conditions A total of 32 pre-selected UFLA SAU Lactobacillus plantarum among 567 strains from the culture collection of the Department of Biology, Federal University of Lavras, MG, Brazil, were used in this survey. These strains were isolated from pork sausages and they possess some features as criteria for application probiotic: no hemolytic, absence of decarboxylase activity, exopolysaccharide production, antibacterial activity and tolerate the effect of low pH, bile, pancreatic fluid (DIAS et al., 2013). Standard pathogens strains of Escherichia coli (ATCC 8739), Salmonella Typhi (ATCC 6539) and Listeria monocytogenes (ATCC 7644) were used in this study. All L. plantarum were stored at - 70 ºC in the Man Rogosa Sharpe (MRS) broth (Difco, Detroit, MI, USA) with 30% glycerol. E. coli and S. Typhi were maintained on nutrient agar (Difco) slopes at 4 ºC and L. monocytogenes in tryptic soy agar with 0.6% yeast extract. Autoaggregation assays Autoaggregation assays were performed as previously described by Kos et al. (2003), with minor modifications. Briefly, the cells were washed twice with phosphate buffered saline (PBS) (pH 7.2). The cells were then resuspended in 4 ml of PBS to 108 CFU/ml by vortexing for 10 s and incubated for 4 h at room temperature. At times 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4 h, 5 µ l of the upper suspension was carefully removed, transferred to microplate containing 195 µ l of PBS, and the absorbance (A) at 620 nm was measured. The autoaggregation percentage was expressed as a function of time until it was constant, using the formula: 1- (At/A0) ×100, where At represents the absorbance at time t= 1, 2, 3 for 4 h and A0 the absorbance at t=0. Coaggregation assays of pathogens with L. plantarum strains The method for preparing the cell suspensions used for testing coaggregation was the same as the autoaggregation assay as suggested by Kos et al. (2003). Equal volumes (2 ml) of each Lactobacillus and pathogenic strain were mixed by vortexing for 10 s. Control tubes were set up at the same time, containing 4 ml of each separate bacterial suspension. The A at 620 nm of the suspensions was measured after mixing and after 4 h of incubation at room temperature. Samples were taken in the same way as in the autoaggregation assay. The percentage of coaggregation was calculated using the equation of Handley et al. (1987): Coaggregation (%) = ((ALactob + Apathog)/2) – Amix × 100, ALactob + Apathog where Apathog and ALactob represent the A620 nm of the separate bacterial suspensions, and Amix represents the absorbance of the mixed bacterial suspension. Microbial Adhesion To Solvents (MATS) measurement MATS was measured according to the method proposed by Pelletier et al. (1997) with modifications. In this study, three solvents (Merck) were tested for adherence to Lactobacillus and pathogenic strains: xylene (apolar solvent), chloroform (monopolar and Lewis-acid solvent) and ethyl acetate (monopolar and Lewis-base solvent). The microbial adhesion to xylene, chloroform and ethyl acetate reflect cell surface hydrophobicity as well as the electron donor/basic and electron acceptor/acidic characteristics of bacteria, respectively. Stationary phase cells were washed twice in PBS and resuspended in 3 ml of 0.1 M KNO3 to a final concentration of approximately 108 CFU/ml bacteria (cell suspension). One milliliter of each solvent was then added to the cell suspension to form a two-phase system. After a 10 min pre- incubation at room temperature, the two-phase system was mixed by vortexing for 2 min and incubated for 30 min at room temperature to allow phase separation. The aqueous phase (At) was carefully removed (200 µ l) and added to a microplate (96 wells - Denmark®). The cell suspension (A0) (200 µl) was also added to a microplate. The absorbance at 620 nm of each sample was measured (Multiskan FC- ThermoScientific Uniscience), and the percentage of cell surface hydrophobicity (H%) was calculated using the formula: H% = (1−At /A0)×100. Statistical analysis All tests were performed in triplicate. For coaggregation and MATS, the data were analyzed 1680 Avaluation of adhesive properties… DIAS, F. S.; DUARTE, W. F.; SCHWAN, R. F. Biosci. J., Uberlândia, v. 29, Supplement 1, p. 1678-1686, Nov. 2013 using ANOVA, and the means were compared by a Scott-Knott test. A randomized complete design was used for the autoaggregation, coaggregation and MATS methods. To autoaggregation assays, the treatments were arranged in a factorial 35 X 4 design: 35 strains and 4 time points (1, 2, 3 and 4 h). For coaggregation, in time of 4 h, the treatments were arranged in the factorial 32 X 3: 32 UFLA SAU L. plantarum strains and three pathogenic microorganisms. For the MATS test, in time of 4 h the factorial was 35 X 3: 35 strains and three solvents. Quantitative data were analyzed using regression. The statistical analysis was performed using SISVAR® (Lavras, Brazil) software, version 4.5. All Lactobacillus properties were analyzed by Principal Component Analysis (PCA) using the software XLSTAT 7.5.2 (Addinsoft, New York, NY, USA). RESULTS AND DISSCUSION Autoaggregation assays The UFL SAU Lactobacillus strains were examined for their autoaggregation ability (Table 1). Aggregation is a phenotype related to cell adherence properties (PELLETIER et al., 1997; KOS et al., 2003). Our strains showed a strong autoaggregating phenotype. According to Del Re et al. (2000), strains with values lower than 10% are designed as non-autoaggregating. Thus, in this study, at the time interval of 1 h, a total of 10 L. plantarum strains and all three pathogens presented value below of 10%, however, at the time interval of 2 h, all strains surpassed this percentage. There was an interaction (P<0.05) between the L. plantarum strains and evaluation time. Twenty three L. plantarum strains, as well as the pathogens, increased linearly over time, as can be explained by the first-degree equations in Table 1. Through the second-degree equation, the UFLA SAU strains 125, 127, 130, 135, 172, 185, 186, 213 and 258 showed higher autoaggregation capacity between 2.9 to 3.5 h and from these time points (specific for each strain), there is a decreasing quadratic of percentage autoaggregative in function of time of study. Compared to the autoaggregation capacity of pathogens, at the time of 4 h, 31 and 18 Lactobacillus strains were more efficient than E. coli and S. Typhi, respectively. In general, probiotic strains should show higher autoaggregation capabilities than pathogenic strains (COLLADO et al., 2007). The UFLA SAU 52 strain was the only strain to show a greater capacity to autoaggregate than L. monocytogenes. This result indicates that the UFLA SAU 52 possess high potential ability to adhere to epithelial cells and mucosal surfaces. The ability to adhere to epithelial cells and mucosal surfaces has been suggested as an important property of many bacterial strains used as probiotics (BAO et al., 2010; KOTZAMANIDIS et al., 2010). Several studies have investigated the composition, structure and forces of interaction related to bacterial adhesion to intestinal epithelial cells (PELLETIER et al., 1997; PÉREZ et al., 1998; DEL RE et al., 2000; BAO et al., 2010; KOTZAMANIDIS et al., 2010). Table 1. Autoaggregation percentage of 32 UFLA SAU strains of L. plantarum and three pathogens microorganisms. Strains Time (h) R2 (%) 1 2 3 4 Average Equation 1 16.96e 29.34f 29.43d 50.08h 31.45g 9.946 x + 6.587 87.42 11 15.36e 32.54g 33.68e 43.32f 31.22g 8.501 x + 9.971 89.09 14 6.92b 22.46c 30.41d 41.76e 25.39c 11.248 x - 2.731 98.38 18 10.71c 27.33e 32.57e 41.21e 27.96e 9.674 x + 3.772 94.57 20 10.44c 33.07g 41.66g 42.57f 31.94g 10.498 x + 5.690 82.13 34 7.50b 23.59c 36.41f 39.04d 26.64d 10.745 x - 0.228 92.37 52 48.81i 60.19l 62.35j 77.20l 62.14n 8.733 x + 40.303 93.38 73 14.44e 28.46e 30.25d 34.98c 27.04d 6.338 x + 11.188 85.85 86 8.65b 33.68g 53.16i 57.35j 38.21k 16.556 x - 3.181 92.36 87 13.45d 23.41c 47.47h 58.37j 35.67i 15.884 x - 4.035 97.13 91 9.51b 33.66g 39.61g 42.85f 31.41g 10.595 x + 4.922 82.22 101 29.53h 43.78i 48.44h 57.82j 44.89m 8.950 x + 22.513 96.13 125 7.36b 26.66d 26.90c 26.98b 21.98b - 4.803 x2 + 29.928 x -16.821 93.74 127 8.51b 35.47h 37.22f 38.62d 29.96f - 6.388 x2 + 41.148 x - 25.003 94.99 1681 Avaluation of adhesive properties… DIAS, F. S.; DUARTE, W. F.; SCHWAN, R. F. Biosci. J., Uberlândia, v. 29, Supplement 1, p. 1678-1686, Nov. 2013 130 8.74b 30.73f 31.76e 33.03c 26.07d - 5.179 x2 + 33.283 x - 18.300 94.42 131 13.59d 30.50f 36.12f 39.18d 29.85f 8.241 x + 9.243 86.77 132 26.23g 38.40h 39.03f 58.81j 40.62l 9.838 x + 16.020 88.72 135 16.27e 30.19f 47.18h 42.26f 33.97h - 4.71 x2 + 33.046 x -13.316 94.53 145 28.73h 46.29k 48.33h 53.55i 44.23m 7.651 x + 25.096 84.03 172 11.82c 37.33h 41.49g 40.92e 32.89h -6.517 x2 + 41.736 x -22.569 97.71 185 7.29b 24.41c 30.58d 22.37a 21.16b - 6.333 x2 + 36.81 x -23.362 99.80 186 13.64d 35.71h 37.35f 36.32d 30.75g - 5.776 x2 + 35.849 x - 15.55 95.98 187 5.63b 10.44a 26.47c 40.67e 20.8b 12.115 x - 9.486 95.99 204 20.54f 24.09c 46.77h 55.47j 36.72j 12.745 x + 4.855 92.97 213 15.37e 41.48i 48.46h 49.02h 38.58k - 6.388 x2 + 42.735 x - 20.344 98.93 217 10.80c 27.47e 48.55h 45.63g 33.11h 12.557 x + 1.718 85.26 220 11.72c 33.53g 48.46h 46.88g 35.15i 12.042 x + 5.041 83.67 226 13.37d 24.66c 33.55e 53.27i 31.21g 12.86 x - 0.937 96.89 238 12.72d 29.79f 42.52g 45.58g 32.65h 11.129 x + 4.828 92.46 245 6.62b 26.52d 30.06d 34.24c 24.36c 8.642 x + 2.753 83.05 258 11.48c 36.36h 40.15g 39.99e 32.00g - 6.26 x2 + 40.235 x - 21.637 97.43 265 10.84c 26.17d 38.17f 38.53d 38.43e 9.508 x + 4.655 88.38 E. coli 1.18a 16.30b 17.20a 28.70b 15.84a 8.347 x - 5.023 91.08 S. Typhi 2.71a 14.80b 21.38b 41.50e 20.10b 12.292 x -10.638 95.66 Listeria 1.99a 15.64b 47.74h 62.24k 31.90g 21.284 x -21.307 97.20 For each column, mean values with different letters are significant (P <0.005) according to the Scott–Knott test. 1Standard Error (SE): 0.955 Coaggregation assays of pathogens with L. plantarum strains Coaggregation of UFLA SAU L. plantarum strains with three enteropathogens were also examined. In the time of evaluation of this study, the ability of coaggregation with the pathogens was significantly (P<0.05) greater in the time of 4 h (Table 2). According to Bao et al. (2010), coaggregation property is strain-specific and the degree gradually increases over time. Table 2. Average percentage of coaggregation activity and Microbial Adhesion To Solvents (MATS) of 32 UFLA SAU L. plantarum strains over time from 1 to 4h. Coaggregation (%) Time (h) E. coli1 S. Typhi2 L. monocytogenes3 1 11.55a 12.66a 21.11a 2 17.69b 16.66b 23.56b 3 22.58c 20.58c 30.16c 4 27.71d 25.07d 34.70d MATS (%) Time (h) Xylene4 Ethyl acetate5 Chloroform6 1 32.33a 15.35a 26.29a 2 32.87b 22.31b 39.19b 3 33.45c 30.67c 51.33c 4 33.87c 36.49d 63.53d For each column, mean values with different letters are significant (P <0.005) according to the Scott–Knott test. 1 SE: 0.394; 2 SE: 0.315; 3 SE: 0.439; 4 SE: 0.157; 5 SE: 0.331; 6SE: 0.395. All of the strains coaggregated with the pathogens except strain UFLA SAU 132, which did not show any coaggregation with the pathogens tested (Figure 1). The coaggregation abilities of the Lactobacillus species with potential pathogens might prevent the colonization of the gut by pathogenic bacteria and constitute an important host defense mechanism against infection in the urogenital and gastrointestinal tract. Coaggregation with potentially gut pathogens could therefore contribute to the probiotic properties ascribed to lactic acid bacteria. (KOS et al., 2003). Thus, probiotic strains should show the ability to coaggregate with the pathogenic strains tested, but the percentage of coaggregation is strain-specific (COLLADO et al., 2007). In our study, strains of Lactobacillus UFLA SAU 185, 91 and 52 showed greater coaggregation with E. coli, S. Typhi and L. monocytogenes, respectively. In relation to the 1682 Avaluation of adhesive properties… DIAS, F. S.; DUARTE, W. F.; SCHWAN, R. F. Biosci. J., Uberlândia, v. 29, Supplement 1, p. 1678-1686, Nov. 2013 pathogenic strains tested, at the time interval of 4 h, the UFLA SAU strains showed the highest average coaggregation (P <0.005) with Listeria monocytogenes. This property may be related to the formation of a mixed species biofilm since mixed species biofilms of L. monocytogenes and L. plantarum have been reported by Veen and Abee (2011). Figure 1. Percent (%) coaggregation of 32 UFLA SAU L. plantarum strains to three pathogens: E. coli ( ), S. Typhi ( ) and L.monocytogenes ( ) at the time of 4 h. Microbial Adhesion To Solvents (MATS) measurement The MATS method was used to evaluate the hydrophobic/ hydrophilic cell surface properties of L. plantarum strains and compare them with the cell surface properties of E. coli, S. Typhi and L. monocytogenes. At the time intervals evaluated in this study, the highest adhesion to solvents took place after 4 h, for the 32 L. plantarum strains evaluated. (Table 2). The results indicated that UFLA SAU 11 and 132 were more hydrophobic, with strong adhesion to xylene, whereas other strains showed lower percentages of adherence to this apolar solvent, such as UFLA SAU 14, 18 and 91 (Figure 2). L. plantarum showing an affinity to an apolar solvent above 40% generally present elevated hydrophobic characteristics (GIAROUS et al., 2009). In this study, five L. plantarum strains presented a hydrophobic surface (UFLA 11, 125, 132, 220 and 258) with affinity above 40% to xylene. Cell surface hydrophobicity methods do not measure the intrinsic microbial cell surface hydrophobicity, but rather the bacterial adhesion to a certain hydrophobic substratum (KOS et al. 2003). According to Del Re et al. (2000) and Giarous et al. (2009), strains should present a hydrophobic surface for a high capacity of adhesion to intestinal cells and solid materials. There was an interaction (P <0.05) between the strains and solvents tested at the time of 4 h. In relation to the solvents tested, the UFLA SAU strains showed the highest average to affinity to chloroform. Twenty-nine strains of Lactobacillus, as well as the pathogenic strains tested, showed a strong overall affinity to chloroform, an acidic solvent and electron acceptor. UFLA SAU 14, 18 and 172 presented a higher affinity for ethyl acetate, a basic solvent (Figure 2). These results indicate that the metabolic set of enzymes is better electron donor and at the same time weak electron acceptors, as confirmed by their hydrophilic cell surface properties. In other words, lactobacilli have a strong basic and a weak acidic character. According to Pelletier et al. (1997), the quantitatively important existence of chemical groups such as –COO- and -HSO3 - at the surface of microorganisms could explain their strong electron donor character. In the MATS test, almost all of the strains 1683 Avaluation of adhesive properties… DIAS, F. S.; DUARTE, W. F.; SCHWAN, R. F. Biosci. J., Uberlândia, v. 29, Supplement 1, p. 1678-1686, Nov. 2013 were electron donors because their affinity to the Lewis-acid chloroform was higher than that to the apolar solvent. Moreover, two strongly Lewis-base strains (UFLA SAU 1 and 187) were also identified (more than 50% of difference between affinity to Lewis-acid chloroform and apolar xylene) which indicates the specific potential of those strains to react with polar substratum. These results were similar to those reported by Giaouris et al. (2009) who analyzed Lactobacillus lactis strains isolated from animal and vegetables. In this study, the percentage of adhesion of pathogens to solvents was tested for comparison with L. plantarum strains (Figure 2). Compared to lactobacilli, L. monocytogenes showed a higher ability to adhere to xylene, an apolar solvent (64.61%); this high percentage of adhesion to xylene can be justified because the bacteria possess the ability to form biofilms. Adhesion, facilitated by bacterial cell surface hydrophobicity, is defined as the first phase of biofilm formation (TRESSE et al., 2006). E. coli and S. Typhi showed percentages of adherence to xylene that were slightly higher than the average of the UFLA SAU strains. Figure 2. Percent (%) of adhesion of 32 UFLA SAU L. plantarum strains, E. coli, S. Typhi and L. monocytogenes to solvents: xylene ( ) , ethyl acetate ( ) and chloroform ( ) at the time of 4 h. Adhesive properties distinction of UFLA SAU strains by PCA To discriminate the adhesive properties distinction of UFLA SAU strains, PCA was carried out based on their adhesion to solvents as well as their auto and coaggregative capacity. The PCA results presented in Figure 3, show that two components, which account for 50.61% of the variability of the original data set have been extracted, and, PC1 and PC2 explained 32.27% and 18.34% of the total variance, respectively. Adhesives properties were markedly separated in the plane of the biplot. In the lower quadrant of the plane, UFLA SAU 132, 226 and 87 could be differentiated by autoaggregation. In the upper left quadrant of the plane, the strain UFLA SAU 11 and the pathogen microorganism L. monocytogenes were characterized by adhesion to solvents. In the upper right quadrant, UFLA SAU 14, 18 and 172 could be differentiated by coaggregation with E. coli, S. Typhi and L. monocytogenes. Although, in general, the L. plantarum strains have good autoaggregative, and coaggregative ability and adhesion to solvents, the analysis of each particular strain is advantageous because natural diversity of the species occurs. According to Izquierdo et al. (2009) and Jensen et al. (2012), the process of adhesion appears to be multifactorial as adhesion cannot be attributed to one component and includes electrostatic interactions, hydrophobic interactions, and specific bacterial structures. Thus, the screening and distinction of L. plantarum strains for the desired properties should be conducted for better results. 1684 Avaluation of adhesive properties… DIAS, F. S.; DUARTE, W. F.; SCHWAN, R. F. Biosci. J., Uberlândia, v. 29, Supplement 1, p. 1678-1686, Nov. 2013 Figure 3. Principal component analysis (PCA) based in adhesion properties data of the 32 UFLA SAU L. plantarum strains. The first seven components explained 50.61% of the total variance; among them, PC1 and PC2 explained 32.27% and 18.34% of the total variance, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Our findings revealed that UFLA SAU strains have a high autoaggregation and coaggregative ability with pathogens, especially Listeria monocytogenes. In relation the adhesion to solvents, in general, the L. plantarum strains showed hydrophilic cell surface properties and an important electron donor and basic character. In comparison to the pathogens tested, many strains UFLA SAU presented higher adhesive capacity. The described natural diversity of the autoaggregation, coaggregation and adhesion to solvents of L. plantarum affords an important pool of functionalities for industrial and safety exploitations such as biofilm formation to solid surfaces and commercial probiotic inoculants for therapeutic or prophylactic preparations and functional foods. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors wish to acknowledge the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply of Brazil (MAPA- Ministério da Agricultura Pecuária e Abastecimento) and CNPq (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico) for scholarship and financial support. RESUMO: Trinta e duas estirpes de linguiça suína, Lactobacillus plantarum UFLA SAU, pré-selecionadas com algumas características para aplicação probiótica, foram utilizadas neste estudo para avaliar suas propriedades adesivas e comparar os resultados com três patógenos também testados. As estirpes foram testadas para autoagregação, coagregação e capacidade de adesão microbiana aos solventes (MATS) nos tempos de 0, 1, 2, 3 e 4 h. Nossos resultados revelaram que estirpes UFLA SAU apresentam alta capacidade autoagregativa e coagregativa com patógenos, especialmente com Listeria monocytogenes. Em relação à adesão aos solventes, de um modo geral, as estirpes de L. plantarum mostraram propriedades hidrofílicas de superfície celular e um importante caráter básico e elétron doador. Propriedades adesivas foram marcadamente separadas para as estirpes em estudo através da Análise de Componentes Principais. UFLA SAU 132, 226 e 87 foram diferenciadas pela capacidade de autoagregação. UFLA SAU 11 e Listeria monocytogenes foram caracterizadas por adesão aos solventes. UFLA SAU 14, 18 e 172 apresentaram coagregação com Escherichia coli, Salmonella Typhi e Listeria monocytogenes. Em comparação aos patógenos testados, muitas estirpes UFLA SAU apresentaram maior capacidade adesiva. 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