Investigation of probiotic, anticancer and antimicrobial activity of Enterococcus bacteria isolated from the gut microbiota of marine snails

Theodor Bilharz Research Institute

Bibliographic Information

Authors: Shaker R.A.E.; Hashem R.A.; Hassan M.; Ibrahim A.M.; Ragab Y.M.; Khattab R.A.

Journal: International Microbiology

Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH

Publication Date: 8 January 2026

Volume / Issue: Volume 29 / Issue 2

Pages: 215–230

ISSN: 11396709

DOI: 10.1007/s10123-025-00747-3

Scopus: View on Scopus

PubMed: 41501588

Document Type: Article

Authors and Affiliations

Shaker R.A.E., Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, Kasr Al-Aini, Cairo, 11562, Egypt; Hashem R.A., Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, Kasr Al-Aini, Cairo, 11562, Egypt; Hassan M., Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, Kasr Al-Aini, Cairo, 11562, Egypt, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Galala University, Suez, New Galala City, 43511, Egypt; Ibrahim A.M., Department of Medical Malacology, Theodor Bilharz Research Institute, Corniche El-Nile St, Imbaba, Giza, 12411, Egypt; Ragab Y.M., Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, Kasr Al-Aini, Cairo, 11562, Egypt, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Sinai University (EL-Arish Branch), Sinai, 16020, Egypt; Khattab R.A., Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, Kasr Al-Aini, Cairo, 11562, Egypt

Abstract

Marine snails, a diverse and ecologically important group under the class Gastropods, possess unique gut microbial communities that are crucial to their physiology, ecology, and environmental interactions. In this research, we focused on exploring the gut microbiota of two marine snail species Murex forskoehlii (M. forskoehlii) and edible snail Thais savignyi (T. savignyi) to acquire bacterial isolates exhibiting probiotic traits and anticancer activity. The M. forskoehlii gut microbiota was predominant with two main phyla Pseudomonadota (62.8%) and Fusobacteria (34.7%) while T. savignyi gut microbiota was predominant with Pseudomonadota (57.6%), Bacteroidota (29.1%) and Bacillota (9.5%). Two Enterococcus strains identified as Enterococcus faecium (E. faecium) and Enterococcus durans (E. durans) were isolated from M. forskoehlii and T. savignyi gut microbiota, respectively. Investigation of important probiotic characteristics in vitro demonstrated their high tolerance to acidic environment (pH 2.5) up to 6 h and bile salts (0.3 and 0.7%) up to 24 h. Furthermore, investigation into the strains’ probiotic properties revealed that the isolated Enterococcus strains exhibited varying antibacterial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Microscopic analysis of the Cacao 2 cell lines revealed that cancer cells treated with bacterial cell free supernatant (CFS) exhibited apoptotic morphological alterations. The exopolysaccharide (EPS) production from both isolated strains was estimated. E. faecium and E. durans demonstrated good auto aggregation and hydrophobicity properties for a potential probiotic. This investigation demonstrated the intestinal microbiota biodiversity of marine snails and their use as a niche source for beneficial bacteria as probiotic bacteria. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2026.

Keywords

Anticancer; Enterococcus Durans; Enterococcus faecium; Murex forskoehlii; Probiotics; Thais savignyi; Animals; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Antineoplastic Agents; Cell Line, Tumor; Enterococcus; Gastrointestinal Microbiome; Humans; Snails; antiinfective agent; antineoplastic agent; probiotic agent; animal; classification; genetics; human; intestine flora; isolation and purification; microbiology; physiology; snail; tumor cell line

Citation Information

Scopus Citations: 0

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