Abstract: 【Objective】 The objective of this study was to isolate lactic acid bacteria with probiotic effect from healthy falcon feces and to provide candidate strains for the development and research of probiotic preparations.【Method】 Six falcon fecal samples were collected from Akqi county,and bacterial isolation and cultivation were carried out using selective culture medium.The isolated bacteria were identified through Gram staining,biochemical identification,16S rDNA PCR amplification,and sequence analysis.Biological characteristics such as growth curve,acid production curve,stress resistance,drug sensitivity,in vitro bacteriostasis,self-aggregation ability,surface hydrophobicity and animal safety test were measured.【Result】 The fecal samples from the falcon yielded three isolates,which were identified as blue-purple positive cocci through Gram staining microscopy.The biochemical analysis demonstrated positive results for raffinose,glucose and methyl red,while the touch enzyme test,hydrogen sulfide test,indole test and V-P test all exhibited negative outcomes.16S rDNA sequencing revealed that the isolates shared over 99% similarity with Enterococcus hirae identified by NCBI.Consequently,the three isolates were classified as Enterococcus hirae and designated EH1,EH2 and EH3,respectively.EH1,EH2 and EH3 strains had logarithmic growth periods of 8-16,8-19 and 8-14 h,respectively.The acid production pH of the bacterial solution was stable at 4.5,indicating good acid production performance.Three strains of Enterococcus hirae were able to survive under pH 3.0 and 0.5% bile salt treatment,demonstrating good stress resistance.The cell-free supernatants of three strains of Enterococcus hirae all showed good antibacterial effects on Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus.They were all mediated by streptomycin and cefotaxifur,and were susceptible to ciprofloxacin,gentamicin,erythromycin,tilmicosin,penicillin,ampicillin and chloramphenicol.The self-agglutination capacity of EH1 strain was higher (28.00%),and the hydrophobic capacity of EH2 strain was higher (52.10%).All of three strains of Enterococcus hirae were non-pathogenic to Kunming mice.【Conclusion】 Three strains of Enterococcus hirae were isolated from falcon feces,which had good probiotics and could be used as candidate strains for probiotic preparations.

Key words: Enterococcus hirae; isolation and identification; biological characteristics; probiotic; falcon