Protective Effects of Potential Probiotic Pediococcus acidilactici 100 Against Multi‐Drug‐Resistant Diarrheal Escherichia coli Strains Induced Changes in Caenorhabditis elegans Model System

The silent pandemic of multidrug‐resistant diarrheal Escherichia coli (MDR‐DEC) pathotypes has become more difficult to treat using available antibiotic regimes, necessitating novel, and natural therapeutic strategies such as probiotics. The present study tested the protective efficiency of indigenous potential probiotic strains of Pediococci against MDR‐DEC strains using Caenorhabditis elegans model. The effect of individual probiotic and DEC strains on survival and physiological responses was monitored in age‐synchronized L4‐stage worms. Further, competitive exclusion assays were conducted to evaluate the protective effects of protective against pathogenesis of DEC strains. Liquid killing assays did not show detrimental effects on lifespan and morphology of worms in the presence of Pediococcus acidilactici 100 using the probiotic as a preferred food source. Administration of the DEC strain reduced the life span and induced morphological damage to the worms. Competitive exclusion assays were used to determine the protective effect of probiotics against colonization of the DEC strain in the worm. Principal component analysis (PCA) established that P. acidilactici 100 is more effective in the protection of the worms if fed before the infection.