ISSN: 0973-7510

E-ISSN: 2581-690X

Research Article | Open Access
Nomthandazo Fiona Nsingo1 , Madeline Siyazisiwe Sibula1, Aaron Nyoni2 and Angela Sibanda-Makuvise1
1Department of Applied Biology and Biochemistry, Faculty of Applied Sciences, National University of Science and Technology, Cnr Cecil Ave and Gwanda road Ascot, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.
2Department of Statistics and Operations Research, Faculty of Applied Sciences, National University of Science and Technology, Cnr Cecil Ave and Gwanda road Ascot, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.
Article Number: 10631 | © The Author(s). 2025
J Pure Appl Microbiol. 2025;19(4):3197-3207. https://doi.org/10.22207/JPAM.19.4.60
Received: 24 May 2025 | Accepted: 30 October 2025 | Published online: 08 December 2025
Issue online: December 2025
Abstract

Antibiotic use in poultry production to treat infections caused by bacteria has led to antibiotic resistance. Many countries have resorted to banning antibiotics in livestock rearing. Probiotics can be used as an alternative to antibiotics as they have the potential to boost bird health and aid in the production of safe consumable produce. The study aimed to isolate Bacillus spp. from samples collected from the vegetable garden, sewage works site, maize milling site, and chicken coop soil. Four isolates were subjected to probiotic screening test. One isolate was further characterized according to 16S gene sequencing. The tested Bacillus spp. indicated resistance to low pH, gastric juice, bile salts and negative test to haemolysis. The isolates exhibited broad spectrum antimicrobial potency against E. coli, Salmonella Typhi, and Staphylococcus aureus. Three Bacillus spp. were resistant to at least one tested antibiotic, while Bacillus PW3 was susceptible to all antibiotics. Further characterization of one Bacillus isolate was done by PCR amplification and sequencing of the 16S rDNA gene. The results confirmed this isolate as Bacillus-related spp. and closely related to Bacillus velezensis. Bacillus PW1 and Bacillus GM3 exhibited potential probiotic characteristics and potential for use in poultry production.

Keywords

Bacillus spp., Probiotics, Antimicrobial Resistance, 16S rDNA, Antibacterial Activity

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© The Author(s) 2025. Open Access. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License which permits unrestricted use, sharing, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.