Paracoccus sp. PS1: a novel probiotic strain for the mitigation of cardiometabolic risk factors TMA, TMAO, and methylglyoxal.

The gut microbiome is increasingly recognized as a critical modulator of host health, particularly in the context of non-communicable diseases like cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Central to this connection are microbially-derived metabolites such as trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO), trimethylamine (TMA), and methylglyoxal, which have emerged as significant biomarkers and mediators of disease progression. All these toxic metabolites are generated in the body by the type of food we consume on daily basis. As the epicentre of TMA mediated ailments is human gut, a probiotic microbial strain with TMA degrading ability may be useful in mitigating those ailments. Due to its strong TMA-degrading ability and non-pathogenic nature of our isolated strain Paracoccus sp. PS1 prompted further investigation of its other physio-biochemical properties to judge its suitability as a probiotic strain. With this aim, viability of PS1 under anaerobic and microaerophilic conditions, which mimic human gut, were examined. Strain PS1 showed positive growth under both microaerophilic and anaerobic conditions and also showed other probiotic features such as tolerance to bile, lysozyme, acidic pH, gastric juices (pepsin), hydrophobicity, aggregation, coaggregation, adhesion and antioxidant properties. Furthermore, analysis of the whole genome sequence of Paracoccus sp. PS1 identified the genes and their respective proteins responsible for its probiotic properties, supporting its potential for use as a novel probiotic strain. The present study is the first to identify and characterize a potential probiotic from the genus Paracoccus with the unique capacity to degrade TMA, TMAO, and methylglyoxal.