Isolation and Characterization of Lactobacillus spp. Isolated from Human Vagina for the Ecological Treatment of Bacterial Vaginosis

초록

Indigenous vaginal Lactobacillus spp. play an important role in maintaining vaginal health. They can produce a variety of inhibitory compounds which prevent the growth of unwanted or pathogenic bacteria. In this study, Lactobacillus spp. were isolated from vagina of Korean women for the ecological treatment of bacterial vaginosis. The isolated Lactobacillus spp. were selected on Rogosa SL agar plate and subjected to gram staining and catalase test. Initial characterization was performed on over 100 isolates in terms of antagonistic activity, hydrogen peroxide production, and cell surface hydrophobicity. A rapid procedure for the identification of lactobacilli, based on the polymerase chain reaction(PCR) and restriction fragment analysis of 16S rDNA genes was applied. Ten selected isolates and 8 different type strains of Lactobacillus spp. were characterized. Amplified 16S rDNA was digested with 4 different restriction endonucleases and subjected to agarose gel electrophoresis. Based on the RFLP data one of the isolates, KLB 46 was identified as L. crispatus. Further DNA sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene confirmed the identity of KLB46 as L. crispatus. Antagonistic substance produced by KLB 46 was extremely heat resistant as well as proteinase K resistant, suggesting that the substance is bacteriocin