Probiotic and safety characterization of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum ZZM01 isolated from mink

In recent years, probiotics have attracted increasing attention due to their roles in gut health regulation, antimicrobial activity, and metabolic benefits. Given the high-fat dietary characteristics of mink, their intestinal microbiota represents a potential source of functionally valuable lactic acid bacteria. In this study, we evaluated the probiotic properties, safety profile, and functional potential of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum ZZM01 isolated from mink intestine. ZZM01 exhibited good tolerance to simulated gastrointestinal conditions, with survival rates of 71.92% at pH 2.0 and 84.71% in 0.3% bile salts. The strain showed inhibitory activity against several pathogenic bacteria, no hemolytic activity, and susceptibility to ceftriaxone and chloramphenicol. Its auto-aggregation ability increased over time (up to 93.85% at 24 h), and the surface hydrophobicity reached 33.19%. Additionally, ZZM01 displayed strong antioxidant activity, with a DPPH radical scavenging rate of 84.62%. In vitro cholesterol removal reached 44.94%, although no bile salt hydrolase activity was detected. Whole-genome analysis revealed multiple genes associated with stress tolerance, including acid, bile salt, oxidative, osmotic, heat, and cold stress responses, which were consistent with the observed gastrointestinal tolerance phenotype. Genome annotation also identified genes involved in carbohydrate metabolism, amino acid biosynthesis, and putative bacteriocin production. Safety-related genome mining identified multiple antibiotic resistance-associated genes and putative virulence factor-related genes, while no toxin- or invasion-associated genes were detected. Overall, ZZM01 exhibits strong gastrointestinal tolerance, antimicrobial activity, antioxidant capacity, adhesion-related properties, and favorable genomic characteristics, supporting its potential application as a probiotic strain.