Agrarian Marketing Corporation

"L-form" bacteria lack some or all of their cell wall components; using a laboratory-induced cell wall deficient isolate of Lactobacillus intuitively would seem counter-productive. However, there is sound scientific basis for such use.

Agrarian Marketing Corporation's application of "L-form" technology stems from the confluence of three significant landmarks in the field of microbiology. First was the discovery by Ilya Metchnikoff (co-Nobel laureate with Paul Ehrlich for work in cellular immunology) that regular consumption of foods containing lactic acid bacteria seemed to be responsible for the health and longevity of people living in the Balkan region of Eastern Europe (published in 1908 as The Prolongation of Life: Optimistic Studies). This work set in motion interest and research with bacteria now used as "probiotics". Later, in 1933, German microbiologist Emmy Kleineburger emigrated to the United Kingdom where she accepted a post with the Lister Institute studying cell-wall deficient organisms involved in pneumonia in cattle. She routinely labeled her isolates with the letter "L" for Lister and an accession number. Soon her colleagues at the Institute were making reference to "Emmy's L-forms"; that nomenclature remains in use to the present as a generic appellation for cell-wall deficient microbes. The third landmark has occurred only in recent years with the discovery that various CWD bacteria can enter and live inside of plant and animal cells, performing most of their repertoire of physiological functions without compromising the health or activity of the cell they occupy. An overview of some of the CWD science can be found in the 1987 presidential address to the Royal Society of Medicine (Scotland) by A. M. Paton (Paton, A.M., 1987. L-forms: evolution or revolution? J. Appl. Bacteriol. 63:365-371.).

Brought together, the application of functional properties of selected Lactobacillus species induced to a cell-wall deficient stage and having the capacity to operate from within mammalian cells, these three pivotal findings underlie our present L-form technology-based approach to solving routine production challenges in modern livestock and poultry operations.

For further information on L-form technology and its applications, please contact us via this link: Request Info.