Cross-Feeding betweenBifidobacterium longumBB536 and Acetate-Converting, Butyrate-Producing Colon Bacteria during Growth on Oligofructose

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Abstract
In vitro coculture fermentations ofBifidobacterium longumBB536 and two acetate-converting, butyrate-producing colon bacteria,Anaerostipes caccaeDSM 14662 andRoseburia intestinalisDSM 14610, with oligofructose as the sole energy source, were performed to study interspecies interactions. Two clearly distinct types of cross-feeding were identified.A. caccaeDSM 14662 was not able to degrade oligofructose but could grow on the fructose released byB. longumBB536 during oligofructose breakdown.R. intestinalisDSM 14610 could degrade oligofructose, but only after acetate was added to the medium. Detailed kinetic analyses of oligofructose breakdown by the last strain revealed simultaneous degradation of the different chain length fractions, in contrast with the preferential degradation of shorter fractions byB. longumBB536. In a coculture of both strains, initial oligofructose degradation and acetate production byB. longumBB536 took place, which in turn also allowed oligofructose breakdown byR. intestinalisDSM 14610. These and similar cross-feeding mechanisms could play a role in the colon ecosystem and contribute to the combined bifidogenic/butyrogenic effect observed after addition of inulin-type fructans to the diet.