Evaluation of some probiotic properties of yeast Rhodotorula mucilaginosa isolated from fermented buckwheat

The study of the yeasts isolated from the least studied fermented sources may have the potential to deal with the unique isolates. In this study, one of the predominant yeasts was isolated from fermented buckwheat. The isolate was identified by amplifying the target sequence of 650 bp of its ITS gene and sequencing PCR products. Afterward, some potential probiotic features of the isolates, including survival in simulated gastrointestinal conditions, antibacterial effect, auto-aggregation, antibiotic resistance, antimycotic and hemolysis ability, as well as antifungal activity against Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus flavus were studied. Based on sequencing results of the PCR products, Rhodotorula mucilaginosa was identified as the yeast isolate. The isolate had 85.07% viability in simulated gastrointestinal conditions. The inhibitory effect of the isolate on Escherichia coli was significantly (P<0.05) higher than the other foodborne bacteria. The yeast isolate had 84.60% auto-aggregation and 60.10% hydrophobicity capabilities. However, no hemolytic activity was observed. The yeast isolate was resistant to all of the studied antibiotics, and it was sensitive towards Ketoconazole among the common antifungal agents. In conclusion, the yeast isolate had appropriate potential to be used as a probiotic culture to produce fermented food products.