Genomics-based approaches to identify and predict the health-promoting and safety activities of promising probiotic strains – A probiogenomics review

Over the past two decades, the clinical evidence supporting the beneficial effects of probiotics in consumer's health and wellness has increased. Hence, the food and pharmaceutical industries have encouraged the production of different probiotic foods and probiotic strains. So far, nearly all marketed probiotics are from animal (dairy and human subjects) origin; however, other sources are increasingly being reported as promising reservoirs of new potential probiotics. In this last regard, before any possible application, probiotic candidates must be characterized by comprehensive trials. This review aims to provide a contemporary perspective in the evaluation and characterization of probiotics under the “probiogenomics” context. Typically, probiotic candidates are selected after several in vitro and in vivo trials aimed to determine their suitable resistance to physiological barriers such as simulated digestive conditions, sensitive inhibition of pathogens, adherence to mucus and hemolytic potential, among other properties. However, there is a need for additional research to further clarify the knowledge of their metabolic capabilities, key features of adaptation, and their physiological functions, including their safety and the molecular mechanism underlaying their functional activities. Thus, different genomics-based approaches, known as “probiogenomics”, have been successfully applied to facilitate the study of current probiotics and new potential candidates, including their health-promoting and safety properties.