This microorganism, known for its probiotic properties, uses these appendages to colonize the intestine, as demonstrated by an international investigation in which participated the National Research Council (CSIC).

The study, published this week in the journal PNAS, reveals that B. bifidum uses these protein appendages known as pili, to interact with their host. A more specific level, these appendages that decorate the surface of the bacteria are those that are joined to human intestinal cells.

Through functional genomic techniques, the team has identified further that B. bifidum possess pili three different types, each with a particular function and different expression patterns depending on environmental conditions.

According to the CSIC researcher at the Institute of Asturias Dairy Borja Sánchez, who collaborated on the research, "so far, there is little information on the mechanisms used by this bacterium to colonize the intestine". His presence there, however, it is well known to improve the balance of intestinal flora.

For his part, CSIC researcher at the center and has also contributed to the work, Abelardo Margolles, believes that this is one of the few studies that show that some probiotic bacteria are capable of using pili as intestinal colonization factors. The finding could encourage research and development of other organisms and probiotic products.

The research was led from the University of Parma (Italy) and has had the participation of researchers from the Universities of Cork (Ireland), Milan and Verona (both in Italy).

Francesca Turroni et al. The role of sortase-dependent pili of Bifidobacterium bifidum PRL2010 in modulating bacterium-host interactions. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1303897110

Francesca Turroni et al. The role of sortase-dependent pili of Bifidobacterium bifidum PRL2010 in modulating bacterium-host interactions. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1303897110

Photo By Y tambe (Y tambe's file) [GFDL, CC-BY-SA-3.0 or CC-BY-SA-2.5-2.0-1.0], via Wikimedia Commons