Abstract:
Probiotics, with their associated beneficial effects, have gained popularity for the control of
foodborne pathogens. Various sources are explored with the intent to isolate novel robust probiotic
strains with a broad range of health benefits due to, among other mechanisms, the production
of an array of antimicrobial compounds. One of the shortcomings of these wild-type probiotics
is their non-specificity. A pursuit to circumvent this limitation led to the advent of the field of
pathobiotechnology. In this discipline, specific pathogen gene(s) are cloned and expressed into
a given probiotic to yield a novel pathogen-specific strain. The resultant recombinant probiotic
strain will exhibit enhanced species-specific inhibition of the pathogen and its associated infection.
Such probiotics are also used as vehicles to deliver therapeutic agents. As fascinating as this approach
is, coupled with the availability of numerous probiotics, it brings a challenge with regard to deciding
which of the probiotics to use. Nonetheless, it is indisputable that an ideal candidate must fulfil the
probiotic selection criteria. This review aims to show how Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus, a clinically
best-studied probiotic, presents as such a candidate. The objective is to spark researchers’ interest to
conduct further probiotic-engineering studies using L. rhamnosus, with prospects for the successful
development of novel probiotic strains with enhanced beneficial attributes.
