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        <identifier>oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/73081</identifier>
        <datestamp>2023-07-11</datestamp>
        <setSpec>col_2142_5131</setSpec>
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        <thesis xmlns="http://www.ndltd.org/standards/metadata/etdms/1.1/" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.ndltd.org/standards/metadata/etdms/1.1/ http://www.ndltd.org/standards/metadata/etdms/1.1/etdms11.xsd http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/ http://www.ndltd.org/standards/metadata/etdms/1.1/etdmsdc.xsd">
          <dc:contributor>Miller, Michael J.</dc:contributor>
          <dc:contributor>Donovan, Sharon M.</dc:contributor>
          <dc:contributor>Miller, Michael J.</dc:contributor>
          <dc:contributor>Jin, Yong-Su</dc:contributor>
          <dc:creator>Thongaram, Taksawan</dc:creator>
          <dc:date>2015-01-21T19:59:12Z</dc:date>
          <dc:date>2015-01-21T19:59:12Z</dc:date>
          <dc:date>2017-01-22T10:15:32Z</dc:date>
          <dc:date>2014-12</dc:date>
          <dc:date>2015-01-21</dc:date>
          <dc:date>2014-12</dc:date>
          <dc:description>Human milk contains a high concentration of complex oligosaccharides (HMOs) that 
are believed to confer physiological benefits to infants such as immunomodulation and 
prevention of pathogen attachment. In addition, it has been postulated that HMOs serve as 
prebiotics by promoting the growth of bifidobacteria in the infant gastrointestinal tract (GIT). 
In this study, the first aim was to investigate the probiotic metabolism of HMOs and HMO 
precursors. Growth parameters were determined by inoculating glucose-grown cultures into 
basal deMan Rogosa Sharpe (MRS) (no added glucose) with 1% carbohydrate (+0.5 g/l L-
cysteine for bifidobacteria) and measuring growth over 48 h.  Cultures were grown in 
microtiter plates, which were incubated under 90% N2, 5% CO2 and 5% H2 at 37oC.  Results 
indicated that: (1) N-acetyl-D-glucosamine (GlcNAc) was widely used by the lactobacilli, but 
B. breve ATCC15700 was the only bifidobacteria strain that could utilize this carbohydrate, 
(2) none of the bifidobacteria and very few lactobacilli could utilize either free L-fucose (L. 
rhamnosus GG and L. rhamnosus DR20) or sialic acid (L. plantarum LP‐66), (3)  none of the 
lactobacilli could ferment the HMOs: 3’-Sialyllactose (3’-SL), 6’-Sialyllactose (6’-SL), 2’-
Fucosyllactose (2’-FL) and 3’- Fucosyllactose (3’-FL), yet four lactobacilli demonstrated 
moderate growth with LNnT, (4) amongst the bifidobacteria strains, only B. infantis ATCC 
15697 and B. infantis M-63 were able to ferment 3'-SL, 6’-SL, 2’-FL and 3’-FL, (5) when B. 
infantis M‐63 was grown with 3’-SL, no sialic acid accumulated in the growth media, but when 
it was grown with 2’-FL, the 44% of the L‐fucose liberated from 2’-FL remained in the media 
 
iii  
and (6) B. infantis, B. breve, L. acidophilus, L. plantarum and L. reuteri were able to ferment 
Lacto-N-neotetraose (LNnT), which was confirmed by High Performance Liquid 
Chromatography (HPLC) analysis.  Thus, there are differences in utilization profiles of milk 
oligosaccharides among lactobacilli and bifidobacteria strains, information that may aid in the 
development of future synbiotic formulations. 
The second aim was to investigate the consumption of LNnT by selected lactobacilli 
and bifidobacteria. We found that LNnT was a growth factor for B. infantis, B. breve, L. 
acidophilus, L. plantarum and L. reuteri.  In this study, HPLC and Thin Layer Chromatography 
(TLC) results confirmed that amongst the tested strains, L. acidophilus NCFM was found to 
be the most efficient lactobacillus strain to utilize LNnT. In addition, we characterized the 
consumption of LNnT in L. acidophilus NCFM and further investigated a -galactosidase gene 
involved in LNnT utilization by L. acidophilus NCFM. β-galactosidase lacL gene knockout in 
L. acidophilus NCFM and subsequent carbohydrate utilization analysis demonstrated that 
LNnT was unable to be utilized by the knockout strain, confirmimg that β-galactosidase lacL 
gene is required for LNnT utilization. Additionally, growth curves of the lacL knockout strain 
showed a reduced growth rate and a longer lag phase on lactose, suggesting that the β-
galactosidase lacL gene plays a significant role in LNnT and lactose utilization in L. 
acidophilus NCFM. 
In the third aim, the consumption of galactooligosaccharides (GOS) by lactobacilli was 
investigated by comparing with selected bifidobacteria in order to determine the metabolism 
of GOS, utilization patterns and potential of probiotic and prebiotic combinations. Matrix-
assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) and TLC analysis of cell-
 
iv  
free supernatants taken during growth of five probiotic bacteria suggested differences in the 
utilization of Purimune™ GOS (GOS-P). L. rhamnosus DR20 and B. lactis Bb-12 
preferentially utilized disaccharides, while L. fermentum and B. infantis utilized mostly di- and 
trisaccharides over larger degree of polymerization (DP) GOS. Among the tested strains, only 
L. acidophilus NCFM showed extracellular and intracellular β-galactosidase activity. 
Interestingly, L. acidophilus NCFM showed a preference to consume GOS with DP 2-6 and 
released galactose very efficiently from GOS-P. L. acidophilus NCFM lacL gene knockout 
and subsequent carbohydrate utilization analysis demonstrated that GOS was not utilized by 
the knockout strain, confirmimg that β-galactosidase lacL gene is required for GOS utilization. 
Our results suggest that the -galactosidase lacL gene is involved in GOS consumption by L. 
acidophilus NCFM, revealing that the role of functional lacL -galactosidase is important for 
the metabolism of lactose and complex carbohydrates for the survival of intestinal lactobacilli 
in GI tract.</dc:description>
          <dc:description>Item withdrawn by Laura Spradlin (lspradl2@illinois.edu) on 2014-12-03T20:12:59Z
Item was in collections:
University of Illinois Theses &amp; Dissertations (ID: 1)
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          <dc:description>Embargo set by: Seth Robbins for item 73270
Lift date: 2017-01-21T19:59:39Z
Reason: Author requested closed access (OA after 2yrs) in Vireo ETD system</dc:description>
          <dc:description>Limited Restriction Lifted for Item 73270 on 2017-01-22T10:15:32Z.</dc:description>
          <dc:identifier>http://hdl.handle.net/2142/73081</dc:identifier>
          <dc:language>en</dc:language>
          <dc:rights>Copyright 2014 Taksawan Thongaram</dc:rights>
          <dc:subject>Probiotics</dc:subject>
          <dc:subject>Human Milk Oligosaccharides (HMOs)</dc:subject>
          <dc:subject>Prebiotics</dc:subject>
          <dc:subject>Lactic Acid Bacteria</dc:subject>
          <dc:title>Probiotic metabolism of human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) and prebiotics</dc:title>
          <dc:type>text</dc:type>
          <degree>
            <department>Food Science &amp; Human Nutrition</department>
            <departmentCode>1698</departmentCode>
            <discipline>Food Science &amp; Human Nutrition</discipline>
            <disciplineCode>0037</disciplineCode>
            <grantor>University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign</grantor>
            <level>Dissertation</level>
            <name>Ph.D.</name>
            <program>PHD:FSci &amp;Hmn Nutrition -UIUC</program>
            <programCode>10KS0037PHD</programCode>
          </degree>
        </thesis>
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