Abstract
The role of the non-secreting stomach region in gastrointestinal colonization of Lactobacillus was studied. Lactobacillus isolates were collected from stomach and colon contents of mice with (control) or without the non-secreting region. The isolates were analyzed using a multiplex RAPD PCR and grouped according to their PCR product profiles. Twelve types of Lactobacillus RAPD PCR profiles were distinguished from 13 mice. Some of these PCR profiles were detected at a particular site, whereas others were present in contents of both stomach and colon. Compared to the stomach and colon content of control mice, no difference in Lactobacillus numbers could be detected in animals without the non-secreting region. However, the removal of the non-secreting stomach region increased the diversity of the Lactobacillus population in both regions. In this study, we provide evidence to suggest that the non-secreting stomach region of mice has no significance in maintaining density of lactobacilli populations present in neither stomach or colon contents.