Recently, the Innovation Team of Functional Component Utilization and Biosynthesis from Institute of Bast Fiber Crops, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (IBFC, CAAS) has revealed that jute nanocrystalline cellulose, as a novel dietary fiber, can effectively protect Lactobacillus rhamnosus against heat, oxidative and antibiotic stresses. The results were published in the "International Journal of Biological Macromolecules".

Lactobacillus rhamnosus, a common functional probiotic, is widely utilized in the functional foods and fermentation industries for its significant effects on flora regulation, immunity enhancement and promotion of gut health. However, in industrial and biological environments, L. rhamnosus faces multiple concurrent stressors including heat, oxidative damage, antibiotics, and host immune response, which collectively limit its functionality in applied products.

By systematically evaluating the effects of jute nanocrystalline cellulose on the growth kinetics and ultrastructure of L. rhamnosus under different environmental stress conditions, the researchers confirmed that jute nanocrystalline cellulose has protective effects on L. rhamnosus. Combined with multi-omics analysis and in vitro experiments, it was found that jute nanocrystalline cellulose stimulated L. rhamnosus to adapt to the ampicillin stress by up-regulating the expression level of genes related to ABC transporter, membrane translocation, and DNA integration pathways, coupled with down-regulating fatty acid metabolism. This study systematically revealed the molecular mechanism of L. rhamnosus to maintain homeostasis under different environmental stresses. The findings provided a practical strategy for industrial applications, demonstrating that dietary fiber supplementation can effectively enhance probiotic stress resistance, and also established a crucial theoretical foundation for expanding the applications of L. rhamnosus in probiotic formulations and biosynthesis technologies.

This research was funded by National Natural Science Foundation of China, Science and Technology Innovation Program of Hunan Province, and Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Program of CAAS.

This study titled Jute nanocrystalline cellulose enhances stress resilience in Lactobacillus rhamnosus by modulating transcriptional homeostasis can be accessed through the following link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0141813025059197?via%3Dihub

Fig.1 Schematic illustration of jute nanocrystalline cellulose enhancing the resistance of L. rhamnosus against stresses

by Deng Yanchun

(dengyanchun@caas.cn)