biostudies-literatureUnknown10(3)Pino ABifidobacteria have long been recognized as bacteria with probiotic and therapeutic features. The aim of this work is to characterize the <i>Bifidobacterium asteroides</i> BA15 and BA17 strains, isolated from honeybee gut, to evaluate its safety for human use. An in-depth assessment was carried out on safety properties (antibiotic resistance profiling, β-hemolytic, DNase and gelatinase activities and virulence factor presence) and other properties (antimicrobial activity, auto-aggregation, co-aggregation and hydrophobicity). Based on phenotypic and genotypic characterization, both strains satisfied all the safety requirements. More specifically, genome analysis showed the absence of genes encoding for glycopeptide (<i>vanA</i>, <i>vanB</i>, <i>vanC</i>-1, <i>vanC</i>-2, <i>vanD</i>, <i>vanE</i>, <i>vanG</i>), resistance to tetracycline (<i>tetM</i>, <i>tetL</i> and <i>tetO</i>) and virulence genes (<i>asa1</i>, <i>gelE</i>, <i>cylA</i>, <i>esp</i>, <i>hyl</i>).Microorganisms655https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC8950671biostudies-literatureCharacterization of <i>Bifidobacterium asteroides</i> Isolates.PMC8950671Vaccalluzzo AMiloud HAmico PCaggia CPino ABenkaddour BRusso NVaccaro SCAgolino GRandazzo CLInturri RfalseCharacterization of <i>Bifidobacterium asteroides</i> Isolates.Bifidobacteria have long been recognized as bacteria with probiotic and therapeutic features. The aim of this work is to characterize the <i>Bifidobacterium asteroides</i> BA15 and BA17 strains, isolated from honeybee gut, to evaluate its safety for human use. An in-depth assessment was carried out on safety properties (antibiotic resistance profiling, β-hemolytic, DNase and gelatinase activities and virulence factor presence) and other properties (antimicrobial activity, auto-aggregation, co-aggregation and hydrophobicity). Based on phenotypic and genotypic characterization, both strains satisfied all the safety requirements. More specifically, genome analysis showed the absence of genes encoding for glycopeptide (<i>vanA</i>, <i>vanB</i>, <i>vanC</i>-1, <i>vanC</i>-2, <i>vanD</i>, <i>vanE</i>, <i>vanG</i>), resistance to tetracycline (<i>tetM</i>, <i>tetL</i> and <i>tetO</i>) and virulence genes (<i>asa1</i>, <i>gelE</i>, <i>cylA</i>, <i>esp</i>, <i>hyl</i>).2022-01-01T00:00:00Z2022 Mar2026-04-08T17:39:37.362Z2025-04-06T12:09:40.624ZS-EPMC89506713533623010.3390/microorganisms10030655