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Three Lactic Acid Bacterial Strains From Wild Red Junglefowl Were Selected as Probiotic Candidates

Male red junglefowl in Pench National Park, India
Research · Disease, parasites & microbiology

Researchers studying three wild red junglefowl (Gallus gallus) from southeastern Bangladesh recovered 39 presumptive lactic acid bacterial isolates from the crop and intestinal tract. Near full-length 16S rRNA sequencing assigned them to three species: Limosilactobacillus reuteri, Ligilactobacillus salivarius and Weissella paramesenteroides.

The 39 isolates represented three bacterial species

L. reuteri was the most common, accounting for 28 of the 39 isolates; eight were L. salivarius and three were W. paramesenteroides. Sequence variation divided the collection into 14 types, which the researchers used to choose representative strains for further testing rather than screening every closely related isolate separately. Near full-length 16S rRNA sequencing is useful for taxonomic identification, but it does not by itself establish all strain-level safety or functional properties.

The representatives were tested for traits relevant to probiotic use, including tolerance of acidic and bile-rich conditions, ability to inhibit potentially harmful bacteria and basic safety characteristics. Three strains — one from each bacterial species — showed the most balanced overall profiles and were combined as a candidate mixture.

Three selected strains were tested in a preliminary broiler trial

In a preliminary 35-day trial with 108 broiler chickens, birds receiving the junglefowl-derived mixture reached a higher final body weight and converted feed more efficiently than untreated controls, with results similar to a commercial probiotic comparator. The authors emphasise that these strains remain probiotic candidates, not fully validated probiotics. The source-discovery phase involved only three wild junglefowl, so the study should be read as exploratory strain discovery rather than a description of the species’ full gut microbiota.

Sources and image credit

  1. Jahan, M., Rahman, M. M., Habiba, M. U., Al-Noman, K. M., Karim, M. R., & Sumon, S. M. R. (2026). Isolation and identification of host-associated lactic acid bacteria with probiotic potential from Red Junglefowl (Gallus gallus) and preliminary in vivo evaluation in broiler chickens. Poultry Science, 105(11), 107537. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psj.2026.107537Primary research article first available online 30 July 2026. Three wild red junglefowl from Rangamati and Bandarban in southeastern Bangladesh yielded 39 presumptive lactic acid bacterial isolates assigned to Limosilactobacillus reuteri, Ligilactobacillus salivarius and Weissella paramesenteroides, representing 14 sequence types. Three strains were selected as probiotic candidates and showed encouraging performance in a preliminary broiler trial, but the authors state that further genomic, safety and field-scale validation is required.

Image: Rudraksha Chodankar — wild male Red Junglefowl in Pench National Park, Madhya Pradesh, India, 5 June 2016. Source: Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 4.0. Representative species image; not one of the three birds sampled in Bangladesh. · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source

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