Probiotic Evaluation of Lactiplantibacillus pentosus 68-1, a Rutin Conversion Strain Isolated from Jiangshui, by Genomic Analysis and Tests In Vitro

To assess the probiotic potential of strain 68-1 with rutin conversion capabilities, isolated from Chinese traditional Jiangshui, a complete genomic analysis and in vitro tests were conducted. The Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT, Oxford, UK)–Illumina (San Diego, CA, USA) hybrid sequencing platform was used for whole genome sequencing and the results showed that strain 68-1 had a chromosome sequence of 3,482,151 bp, with 46.53% GC content and five plasmids with a sequence length ranging from 2009 bp to 48,711 bp. Strain 68-1 was identified asLactiplantibacillus pentosusbased on the whole genome sequence. A total of 133 genes encoding for carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes) were identified and genes that may be involved in rutin conversion were found in theL. pentosus68-1 genome.L. pentosus68-1 showed excellent tolerance to gastrointestinal juice and adhesion properties, and corresponding genes were identified. In addition,L. pentosus68-1 exhibited strong antibacterial and antifungal activity, where organic acids may play a crucial role in its antagonistic ability. Moreover, the gene cluster for plantaricin_EF production was detected. No high virulence factor was found in theL. pentosus68-1 genome and no hemolytic effect was observed. In addition,L. pentosus68-1 showed resistance to ampicillin, gentamycin, and kanamycin, and the genomic analysis indicated that horizontal ARG transfer should not be possible. The results show thatL. pentosus68-1 could be developed as a novel probiotic candidate to improve rutin bioavailability in the food and feed industry.