Effect of pH control on lactic acid fermentation of starch by Lactobacillus manihotivorans LMG 18010T

Use of glycerol waste in lactic acid bacteria metabolism for the production of lactic acid: State of the art in Poland

Lactic acid is a naturally existing organic acid, which may be used in many different branches of industrial application. It can be made in the sugar fermentation process from renewable raw lactic acid, which is an indispensable raw material, including in the agricultural, food, and pharmaceutical industries. It is an ecological product that has enjoyed great popularity in recent years. In 2010, the US Department of Energy published a report about lactic acid to be a potential building element for future technology, whose demand grows year by year. The lactic acid molecule naturally exists in plants, microorganisms, and animals and can also be produced by carbohydrate fermentation or chemical synthesis from coal, petroleum products, and natural gas. In industry, lactic acid can be produced by chemical synthesis or fermentation. Although racemic lactic acid is always produced chemically from petrochemical sources, the optically pure L(+) – or D(−) – lactic acid forms can be obtained by microbial fermentation of renewable resources when an appropriate microorganism is selected. Depending on the application, one form of optically pure LA is preferred over the other. Additionally, microbial fermentation offers benefits including cheap renewable substrates, low production temperatures, and low energy consumption. Due to these advantages, the most commonly used biotechnological production process with the use of biocatalysts, i.e., lactic acid bacteria. The cost of raw materials is one of the major factors in the economic production of lactic acid. As substrate costs cannot be reduced by scaling up the process, extensive research is currently underway to find new substrates for the production of LA. These searches include starch raw materials, lignocellulosic biomass, as well as waste from the food and refining industries. Here, the greatest attention is still drawn to molasses and whey as the largest sources of lactose, vitamins, and carbohydrates, as well as glycerol – a by-product of the biodiesel component production process. Focusing on the importance of lactic acid and its subsequent use as a product, but also a valuable raw material for polymerization (exactly to PLA), this review summarizes information about the properties and applications of lactic acid, as well as about its production and purification processes. An industrial installation for the production of lactic acid is only planned to be launched in Poland. As of today, there is no commercial-scale production of this bio-raw material. Thus, there is great potential for the application of the lactic acid production technology and research should be carried out on its development.

Characterization of Amorphophallus paeoniifolius (Dennst.) Nicolson Modified Fermented Flour

Background:

Flour is generally evaluated by physicochemical analysis of its constituents in order to determine its functional properties. The modification of flour is reflected in many of its physicochemical properties.

Objective:

In the present study, samples of elephant foot yam (Amorphophallus paeoniifolius) modified fermented flour were characterized based on physicochemical properties of starch, amylose, and amylopectin content, and also flour morphology.

Methods:

Various starters were applied (mocaf, Bimo-cf, and tape yeast) for 12h fermentation before being processed into flour to modify its properties. The physicochemical parameters of flours consist of whiteness index, pasting properties, foaming capacity, flour morphology, and proximate compositions. All data were taken in triplicate using completely randomized design.

Result:

All the starters were able to improve whiteness index (WI) of flour. There was a correlation between fat and protein content with pasting properties of native flour and modified fermented elephant foot yam (MoEFY) flours. Fermentation processes caused slight changes of flour pasting properties. The granule size of MoEFY flour became smaller than those in native elephant foot yam flour after fermentation, and granules were polyhedral with slightly pointed and protruding edges.

Conclusion:

The results suggested that fermentation by Bimo-cf starter within 12h could provide a greater extent of flour modification.

Production of Raw Starch-Digesting Amylolytic Preparation in Yarrowia lipolytica and Its Application in Biotechnological Synthesis of Lactic Acid and Ethanol

Sustainable economy drives increasing demand for raw biomass-decomposing enzymes. Microbial expression platforms exploited as cellular factories of such biocatalysts meet requirements of large-volume production. Previously, we developed Yarrowia lipolytica recombinant strains able to grow on raw starch of different plant origin. In the present study, we used the most efficient amylolytic strain as a microbial cell factory of raw-starch-digesting (RSD) amylolytic preparation composed of two enzymes. The RSD-preparation was produced in fed-batch bioreactor cultures. Concentrated and partly purified preparation was then tested in simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) processes with thermotolerant Kluyveromyces marxianus for ethanol production and Lactobacillus plantarum for production of lactic acid. These processes were conducted as a proof-of-concept that application of the novel RSD-preparation supports sufficient starch hydrolysis enabling microbial growth and production of targeted molecules, as the selected strains were confirmed to lack amylolytic activity. Doses of the preparation and thermal conditions were individually adjusted for the two processes. Additionally, ethanol production was tested under different aeration strategies; and lactic acid production process was tested in thermally pre-treated substrate, as well. Conducted studies demonstrated that the novel RSD-preparation provides satisfactory starch hydrolyzing activity for ethanol and lactic acid production from starch by non-amylolytic microorganisms.

The Effect of Calcium/Magnesium Ratio on the Biomass Production of a Novel Thermoalkaliphilic Aeribacillus pallidus Strain with Highly Heat-Resistant Spores

Hot springs are fascinating extreme environments for the isolation of polyextremophilic microorganisms with extraordinary characteristics. Since polyextremophilic bacterial growth are not as high as routine bacteria, the objective of this study was to investigate the effect of some environmental factors on biomass and metabolites productions in the newly isolated strain, from Larijan hot spring in Iran. The strain was identified as Aeribacillus pallidus Lhs-10 and deposited as CCUG 72355 and IBRC-M 11202 in Sweden and Iran, respectively. This thermoalkaliphilic strain can grow best at 50 °C, pH 8 and in the presence of 25 g/l NaCl. The physiological characterization of this strain show that [Ca/Mg] ratio affect its growth and biomass production with the best results obtained at the ratio of 2.5. Moreover, lactic and acetic acids production by this strain was affected by pH, aeration, and temperature, where a metabolic shift was detected from lactate to acetate production when the culture was aerated. Besides, its spores could tolerate heating at 80, 85, 90, 95 and 98 °C for 30 min without any reduction in the initial spore population, whereas D-value was defined 50 min at 98 °C. This newly lactic acid-producing strain of A. pallidus can be a promising strain that can be used in the harsh conditions in industrial processes.

Effect of Biofermentation with Taxifolin on Physicochemical and Microbiological Properties of Cold-Smoked Pork Sausages

The aim of this work is to evaluate the effect of taxifolin on the physicochemical and microbiological properties of cold-smoked pork sausages produced using different commercial starter cultures with Leuconostoc carnosum and with a mixture of Pediococcus pentosaceus and Staphylococcus xylosus. Ultra performance liquid chromatography analysis demonstrated that after 181 days of storage total taxifolin content was the highest in samples with taxifolin and L. carnosum (60%), compared to the first day of storage. The sausages with taxifolin and the mixture of P. pentosaceus and S. xylosus (56%) followed next. Taxifolin improved the hygienic quality of sausages without significant effect on the growth of lactic acid bacteria. The accumulation of biogenic amines, including histamine and putrescine, was more effectively reduced in sausages inoculated with the taxifolin and P. pentosaceus and S. xylosus mixture. Using this mixture, the rate of lipolysis and lipid oxidation were effectively slowed down. Samples with taxifolin and L. carnosum showed the highest free radical scavenging activity on the first day of the study ((77.4±1.3) %) (p<0.05 in all samples). Mixtures containing taxifolin and starter cultures bound free radicals better than taxifolin alone. The colour parameters (L*, a* and b*) of preparations and final products were significantly influenced by taxifolin and starter cultures and storage time (p<0.05 in all samples).

Two-step production of anti-inflammatory soluble factor by Lactobacillus reuteri CRL 1098

We have demonstrated previously that a soluble factor (LrS) produced by Lactobacillus (L.) reuteri CRL 1098 modulates the inflammatory response triggered by lipopolysaccharide. In this study, the production of LrS by L. reuteri CRL 1098 was realized through two steps: i) bacterial biomass production, ii) LrS production, where the bacterial biomass was able to live but did not proliferate. Therefore, the simultaneous evaluation of the effect of different factors on the growth and LrS production was performed. Biomass production was found to be dependent mainly on culture medium, while LrS production with anti-inflammatory activity depended on culture conditions of the biomass such as pH, agitation and growth phase. The L. reuteri CRL 1098 biomass and LrS production in the optimized culture media designed for this work reduced the complete process cost by approximately 95%, respectively to laboratory scale cost.

Metabolic Engineering of Lactobacillus plantarum for Direct l-Lactic Acid Production From Raw Corn Starch

Fermentative production of optically pure lactic acid (LA) has attracted great interest because of the increased demand for plant-based plastics. For cost-effective LA production, an engineered Lactobacillus plantarum NCIMB 8826 strain, which enables the production of optically pure l-LA from raw starch, is constructed. The wild-type strain produces a racemic mixture of d- and l-LA from pyruvate by the action of the respective lactate dehydrogenases (LDHs). Therefore, the gene encoding D-LDH (ldhD) is deleted. Although no decrease in d-LA formation is observed in the ΔldhD mutant, additional disruption of the operon encoding lactate racemase (larA-E), which catalyzes the interconversion between d- and l-LA, completely abolished d-LA production. From 100 g L^-1 glucose, the ΔldhD ΔlarA-E mutant produces 87.0 g L^-1 of l-LA with an optical purity of 99.4%. Subsequently, a plasmid is introduced into the ΔldhD ΔlarA-E mutant for the secretion of α-amylase from Streptococcus bovis 148. The resulting strain could produce 50.3 g L^-1 of l-LA from raw corn starch with a yield of 0.91 (g per g of consumed sugar) and an optical purity of 98.6%. The engineered L. plantarum strain would be useful in the production of l-LA from starchy materials.

Amylolytic Enzymes Acquired from L-Lactic Acid Producing Enterococcus faecium K-1 and Improvement of Direct Lactic Acid Production from Cassava Starch

An amylolytic lactic acid bacterium isolate K-1 was isolated from the wastewater of a cassava starch manufacturing factory and identified as Entercoccus faecium based on 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. An extracellular α-amylase was purified to homogeneity and the molecular weight of the purified enzyme was approximately 112 kDa with optimal pH value and temperature measured of 7.0 and 40 °C, respectively. It was stable at a pH range of 6.0-7.0, but was markedly sensitive to high temperatures and low pH conditions, even at a pH value of 5. Ba²⁺, Al³⁺, and Co²⁺ activated enzyme activity. This bacterium was capable of producing 99.2% high optically pure L-lactic acid of 4.3 and 8.2 g/L under uncontrolled and controlled pH at 6.5 conditions, respectively, in the MRS broth containing 10 g/L cassava starch as the sole carbon source when cultivated at 37 °C for 48 h. A control pH condition of 6.5 improved and stabilized the yield of L-lactic acid production directly from starch even at a high concentration of starch at up to 150 g/L. This paper is the first report describing the properties of purified α-amylase from E. faecium. Additionally, pullulanase and cyclodextrinase activities were also firstly recorded from E. faecium K-1.

Highly efficient l-lactic acid production from xylose in cell recycle continuous fermentation using Enterococcus mundtii QU 25

We report an effective cell recycling continuous fermentation of xylose to l-lactic acid with high concentration, productivity, and yield using strain QU 25. pH was found to affect the yield and corn steep liquor as feeding medium enhanced the yield.

Direct starch fermentation to L-lactic acid by a newly isolated thermophilic strain, Bacillus sp. MC-07

A newly isolated Bacillus sp. MC-07 showed 99.2 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity with the Bacillus thermoamylovorans LMG 18084(T). It demonstrated optimum and maximum growth temperatures of 50 and 62 °C, respectively. The ability of MC-07 to produce optically pure L-lactic acid via direct fermentation of starch without enzymatic hydrolysis was investigated at different pH values (6.0-8.0) by intermittent adjustments every 12 h. During batch fermentation in mineral salt medium containing 0.001 % yeast extract at pH 7.0, 20 g/L of soluble starch was utilized to produce 16.6 g/L L-lactic acid at 50 °C within 24 h of fermentation, with 100 % optical purity, 92.1 % lactic acid selectivity, and an L-lactic acid yield of 0.977 g/g. Direct starch fermentation at pHs 6.0, 6.5, 7.5, and 8.0 resulted in considerably lower concentrations of lactic acid than did at pH 7.0. Compared with B. thermoamylovorans LMG 18084(T), the ability of strain MC-07 to produce L-lactic acid was superior.

Towards lactic acid bacteria-based biorefineries

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) have long been used in industrial applications mainly as starters for food fermentation or as biocontrol agents or as probiotics. However, LAB possess several characteristics that render them among the most promising candidates for use in future biorefineries in converting plant-derived biomass-either from dedicated crops or from municipal/industrial solid wastes-into biofuels and high value-added products. Lactic acid, their main fermentation product, is an attractive building block extensively used by the chemical industry, owing to the potential for production of polylactides as biodegradable and biocompatible plastic alternative to polymers derived from petrochemicals. LA is but one of many high-value compounds which can be produced by LAB fermentation, which also include biofuels such as ethanol and butanol, biodegradable plastic polymers, exopolysaccharides, antimicrobial agents, health-promoting substances and nutraceuticals. Furthermore, several LAB strains have ascertained probiotic properties, and their biomass can be considered a high-value product. The present contribution aims to provide an extensive overview of the main industrial applications of LAB and future perspectives concerning their utilization in biorefineries. Strategies will be described in detail for developing LAB strains with broader substrate metabolic capacity for fermentation of cheaper biomass.

Fermentative production of lactic acid from renewable materials: recent achievements, prospects, and limits

The development and implementation of renewable materials for the production of versatile chemical resources have gained considerable attention recently, as this offers an alternative to the environmental problems caused by the petroleum industry and the limited supply of fossil resources. Therefore, the concept of utilizing biomass or wastes from agricultural and industrial residues to produce useful chemical products has been widely accepted. Lactic acid plays an important role due to its versatile application in the food, medical, and cosmetics industries and as a potential raw material for the manufacture of biodegradable plastics. Currently, the fermentative production of optically pure lactic acid has increased because of the prospects of environmental friendliness and cost-effectiveness. In order to produce lactic acid with high yield and optical purity, many studies focus on wild microorganisms and metabolically engineered strains. This article reviews the most recent advances in the biotechnological production of lactic acid mainly by lactic acid bacteria, and discusses the feasibility and potential of various processes.

Lactic Acid Yield Using Different Bacterial Strains, Its Purification, and Polymerization through Ring-Opening Reactions

Laboratory-scale anaerobic fermentation was performed to obtain lactic acid from lactose, using five lactic acid bacteria:Lactococcus lactis, Lactobacillus bulgaricus, L. delbrueckii, L. plantarum,andL. delbrueckii lactis. A yield of 0.99 g lactic acid/g lactose was obtained withL. delbrueckii, from which a final concentration of 80.95 g/L aqueous solution was obtained through microfiltration, nanofiltration, and inverse osmosis membranes. The lactic acid was polymerized by means of ring-opening reactions (ROP) to obtain poly-DL-lactic acid (PDLLA), with a viscosity average molecular weight (Mv) of 19,264 g/mol.

Inhibition of Listeria monocytogenes and Escherichia coli O157:H7 in liquid broth medium and during processing of fermented sausage using autochthonous starter cultures

The antimicrobial effect of two autochthonous starter cultures of Lactobacillus sakei was evaluated in vitro (in liquid broth medium) and in situ assays. The inactivation of foodborne pathogens Listeria monocytogenes (serotype 4ab No 10) and Escherichia coli O157:H7 ATCC 43888 was investigated during the production of fermented sausage according to a typical Greek recipe using L. sakei strains as starter cultures. The inactivation kinetics were modeled using GInaFiT, a freeware tool to assess microbial survival curves. By the end of the ripening period, the inhibition of L. monocytogenes was significant in treatments with L. sakei 8416 and L. sakei 4413 compared to the control treatment. A 2.2-log reduction of the population of E. coli O157:H7 resulted from the autochthonous starter culture L. sakei 4413 during sausage processing. The use of the autochthonous starter cultures constitutes an additional improvement to the microbial safety by reducing foodborne pathogens.

Enzymatic conversions of starch

This article surveys methods for the enzymatic conversion of starch, involving hydrolases and nonhydrolyzing enzymes, as well as the role of microorganisms producing such enzymes. The sources of the most common enzymes are listed. These starch conversions are also presented in relation to their applications in the food, pharmaceutical, pulp, textile, and other branches of industry. Some sections are devoted to the fermentation of starch to ethanol and other products, and to the production of cyclodextrins, along with the properties of these products. Light is also shed on the enzymes involved in the digestion of starch in human and animal organisms. Enzymatic processes acting on starch are useful in structural studies of the substrates and in understanding the characteristics of digesting enzymes. One section presents the application of enzymes to these problems. The information that is included covers the period from the early 19th century up to 2009.

Molecular characterisation and biomass and metabolite production of Lactobacillus reuteri LPB P01-001: A potential probiotic

Lactobacillus reuteri LPB P01–001 was isolated from the gastrointestinal tract of wild swine and was characterised by biochemical testing and sequencing of gene 16S rRNA. A simple and low-cost culture medium based on cane sugar (2.5% p/v) and yeast extract (1% p/v) was used in the production of this probiotic. The fermentative conditions were a) pH control at 6.5 and b) no pH control; both were set at 37°C in a 12 L slightly stirred tank bioreactor. Fermentation parameters such as the specific growth rate, productivity and yield of biomass, lactic and acetic acid levels were determined. L. reuteri LPB P01–001 behaves as an aciduric bacteria because it grows better in a low pH medium without pH control. However, the lactic acid production yield was practically half (9.22 g.L^-1) of that obtained under a constant pH of 6.5, which reached 30.5 g.L^-1 after 28 hours of fermentation. The acetic acid production was also higher under pH-controlled fermentation, reaching 10.09 g.L^-1after 28 hours of fermentation. These parameters may raise the interest of those committed to the efficient production of a probiotic agent for swine.

Changes of physicochemical, microbiological, and textural properties during ripening of Italian low-acid sausages. Proteolysis, sensory and volatile profiles

In this study low-acid sausages were studied to characterize their physicochemical, microbiological, and textural properties during ripening. The final a(w) was 0.87-0.88, whereas pH values stayed around their initial values during processing. Lactic acid bacteria increased very slowly in number and a small increase of Micrococcaceae was also noticed. Low-acid sausages showed low hardness and cohesiveness, and were easily distinguishable by sensory analysis from other industrial and artisan sausages. Under the conditions of the study, observed volatile compounds were mainly from spices and wine. The respective contribution of muscle and indigenous bacterial enzymes to proteolysis was determined by comparing changes in low-acid sausages to those containing an antibiotic-antimycotic mixture or sugar. A large part of the degradation of myofibrillar proteins appeared due to endogenous enzymes, although bacterial proteinases contributed to the degradation of these proteins. The role of microorganisms in proteolysis was more evident in the degradation of sarcoplasmic proteins.

L+-lactic acid production from starch by a novel amylolytic Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis B84

A new Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis B84, capable of utilizing starch as a sole carbon source and producing L(+)-lactate, was isolated from spontaneously fermented rye sourdough. Aiming at maximum lactic acid productivity, the components of the media and the cultivation conditions were varied. In MRS-starch medium (with absence of yeast and meat extracts), at 33 degrees C, agitation 200 rpm and pH 6.0 for 6 days complete starch hydrolysis occurred and 5.5 gl(-1) lactic acid were produced from 18 gl(-1) starch. The identification of strain B84 was based on genetic criteria. Amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis (ARDRA), PCR with species-specific primers and sequencing of the 16S rDNA proved its species affiliation. Four genes for enzymes, involved in starch degradation were detected in B84 genome: amyL, amyY, glgP and apu, coding cytoplasmic and extracellular alpha-amylases, glycogen phosphorylase and amylopullulanase, respectively. Reverse transcription PCR experiments showed that both genes, encoding alpha-amylases (amyL and amyY) were expressed into mRNAs, whereas apu and glgP were not. Amylase activity assay was performed at different pH and temperatures. The cell-bond amylase proved to be the key enzyme, involved in the starch hydrolysis with maximum activity at 45 degrees C and pH 5.4.

Amylolytic bacterial lactic acid fermentation — A review

Lactic acid, an enigmatic chemical has wide applications in food, pharmaceutical, leather, textile industries and as chemical feed stock. Novel applications in synthesis of biodegradable plastics have increased the demand for lactic acid. Microbial fermentations are preferred over chemical synthesis of lactic acid due to various factors. Refined sugars, though costly, are the choice substrates for lactic acid production using Lactobacillus sps. Complex natural starchy raw materials used for production of lactic acid involve pretreatment by gelatinization and liquefaction followed by enzymatic saccharification to glucose and subsequent conversion of glucose to lactic acid by Lactobacillus fermentation. Direct conversion of starchy biomass to lactic acid by bacteria possessing both amylolytic and lactic acid producing character will eliminate the two step process to make it economical. Very few amylolytic lactic acid bacteria with high potential to produce lactic acid at high substrate concentrations are reported till date. In this view, a search has been made for various amylolytic LAB involved in production of lactic acid and utilization of cheaply available renewable agricultural starchy biomass. Lactobacillus amylophilus GV6 is an efficient and widely studied amylolytic lactic acid producing bacteria capable of utilizing inexpensive carbon and nitrogen substrates with high lactic acid production efficiency. This is the first review on amylolytic bacterial lactic acid fermentations till date.

Improvement in lactic acid production from starch using α-amylase-secreting Lactococcus lactis cells adapted to maltose or starch

To achieve direct and efficient lactic acid production from starch, a genetically modified Lactococcus lactis IL 1403 secreting alpha-amylase, which was obtained from Streptococcus bovis 148, was constructed. Using this strain, the fermentation of soluble starch was achieved, although its rate was far from efficient (0.09 g l(-1) h(-1) lactate). High-performance liquid chromatography revealed that maltose accumulated during fermentation, and this was thought to lead to inefficient fermentation. To accelerate maltose consumption, starch fermentation was examined using L. lactis cells adapted to maltose instead of glucose. This led to a decrease in the amount of maltose accumulation in the culture, and, as a result, a more rapid fermentation was accomplished (1.31 g l(-1) h(-1) lactate). Maximum volumetric lactate productivity was further increased (1.57 g l(-1) h(-1) lactate) using cells adapted to starch, and a high yield of lactate (0.89 g of lactate per gram of consumed sugar) of high optical purity (99.2% of L: -lactate) was achieved. In this study, we propose a new approach to lactate production by alpha-amylase-secreting L. lactis that allows efficient fermentation from starch using cells adapted to maltose or starch before fermentation.

Direct production of L+-lactic acid from starch and food wastes using Lactobacillus manihotivorans LMG18011

This study describes several essential factors for direct and effective lactic acid production from food wastes by Lactobacillus manihotivorans LMG18011, and optimum conditions for simultaneous saccharification and fermentation using soluble starch and food wastes as substrates. The productivity was found to be affected by three factors: (1) initial pH, which influenced amylase production for saccharification of starch, (2) culture pH control which influenced selective production of L(+)-lactic acid, and (3) manganese concentration in medium which improved in production rate and yield of lactic acid. The optimum initial pH was 5.0-5.5, and the fermentation pH for the direct and effective fermentation from starchy substrate was 5.0 based on the yield of L(+)-lactic acid. Under these conditions, 19.5 g L(+)-lactic acid was produced from 200 g food wastes by L. manihotivorans LMG18011. Furthermore, the addition of manganese stimulated the direct fermentation significantly, and enabled complete bioconversion within 100 h.

Display of alpha-amylase on the surface of Lactobacillus casei cells by use of the PgsA anchor protein, and production of lactic acid from starch

We developed a new cell surface engineering system based on the PgsA anchor protein from Bacillus subtilis. In this system, the N terminus of the target protein was fused to the PgsA protein and the resulting fusion protein was expressed on the cell surface. Using this new system, we constructed a novel starch-degrading strain of Lactobacillus casei by genetically displaying alpha-amylase from the Streptococcus bovis strain 148 with a FLAG peptide tag (AmyAF). Localization of the PgsA-AmyA-FLAG fusion protein on the cell surface was confirmed by immunofluorescence microscopy and flow cytometric analysis. The lactic acid bacteria which displayed AmyAF showed significantly elevated hydrolytic activity toward soluble starch. By fermentation using AmyAF-displaying L. casei cells, 50 g/liter of soluble starch was reduced to 13.7 g/liter, and 21.8 g/liter of lactic acid was produced within about 24 h. The yield in terms of grams of lactic acid produced per gram of carbohydrate utilized was 0.60 g per g of carbohydrate consumed at 24 h. Since AmyA was immobilized on the cells, cells were recovered after fermentation and used repeatedly. During repeated utilization of cells, the lactic acid yield was improved to 0.81 g per g of carbohydrate consumed at 72 h. These results indicate that efficient simultaneous saccharification and fermentation from soluble starch to lactic acid were carried out by recombinant L. casei cells with cell surface display of AmyA.

Efficient production of L-(+)-lactic acid from raw starch by Streptococcus bovis 148

Streptococcus bovis 148 was found to produce L-(+)-lactic acid directly from soluble and raw starch substrates at pH 6.0. Productivity was highest at 37 degrees C, with 14.7 g/l lactic acid produced from 20 g/l raw starch. The yield and optical purity of L-lactic acid were 0.88 and 95.6%, respectively.

Multiple competitive PCR-DGGE as a tool for quantifying and profiling defined mixed cultures of lactic acid bacteria during production of probiotics from complex polysaccharides

AIMS

To apply a denaturing gradient gel electrophoretic (DGGE) method to quantify and profile individual strains during a mixed culture fermentation.

METHODS AND RESULTS

DNA was extracted during the culture of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and amplified in a multiple competitive PCR (cPCR) using general primers targeting 16S rDNA and DNA from Streptococcus salivarius as competitive DNA. Subsequently the 200-kb amplified fragments were separated by DGGE. The method was validated in pure cultures and used to profile a mixture of three LAB grown on glucose, soluble starch and glycogen from mussel processing waste. The inclusion of a starch- and glycogen-degrading strain (Lactobacillus plantarum) and a weakly amylotic nisin-resistant strain (Lact. paracasei) allowed proliferation of the nisin producing Lactococcus lactis which in itself is unable to grow on complex carbohydrates. cPCR-DGGE permitted the monitoring of a different strain succession on the different carbohydrates, related to amylolytic activity and substrate consumption, acid production and nisin production.

CONCLUSIONS

cPCR-DGGE is a useful tool for profiling defined mixed cultures of bacteria and hence allows their interaction to be studied.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY

Provided validation of the method for each specific case, it may be appropriate to monitor and control the reproducibility of any defined mixed culture of bacteria, with the advantage that an increase in the strain numbers to be monitored does not yield an increase in the labour of the procedure.

Characterization and differentiation of Lactobacillus manihotivorans strains isolated from cassava sour starch

Lactobacillus manihotivorans has been reported as one of the dominant species in cassava sour starch production process. Seven isolates that have previously been identified as belonging to this species were studied in the present work. Their molecular and phenotypic characteristics showed higher strain diversity than previously described. Differences were found in their fermentation profiles, whereas no major differences were observed in properties related to processing conditions (salt concentration, pH, temperature), or in potential functional properties (bile salt and pH 2.0 tolerance). Among the main characteristics of interest for the fermentation of cereals or cassava, blended or not with legumes, six out of seven strains were amylolytic and raffinose was fermented by all strains. Strains OND 32T and OLB 7 fermented the broadest range of carbohydrates. Most of the strains contained plasmids. Plasmid curing changed their phenotypic characteristics, particularly those of strain OND 32T, which, in addition, lost its starch and raffinose fermentation ability.

Microbial and physiological characterization of weakly amylolytic but fast-growing lactic acid bacteria: a functional role in supporting microbial diversity in pozol, a Mexican fermented maize beverage

Pozol is an acid beverage obtained from the natural fermentation of nixtamal (heat- and alkali-treated maize) dough. The concentration of mono- and disaccharides from maize is reduced during nixtamalization, so that starch is the main carbohydrate available for lactic acid fermentation. In order to provide some basis to understand the role of amylolytic lactic acid bacteria (ALAB) in this fermented food, their diversity and physiological characteristics were determined. Forty amylolytic strains were characterized by phenotypic and molecular taxonomic methods. Four different biotypes were distinguished via ribotyping; Streptococcus bovis strains were found to be predominant. Streptococcus macedonicus, Lactococcus lactis, and Enterococcus sulfureus strains were also identified. S. bovis strain 25124 showed extremely low amylase yield relative to biomass (139 U g [cell dry weight](-1)) and specific rate of amylase production (130.7 U g [cell dry weight](-1) h(-1)). In contrast, it showed a high specific growth rate (0.94 h(-1)) and an efficient energy conversion yield to bacterial cell biomass (0.31 g of biomass g of substrate(-1)). These would confer on the strain a competitive advantage and are the possible reasons for its dominance. Transient accumulation of maltooligosaccharides during fermentation could presumably serve as energy sources for nonamylolytic species in pozol fermentation. This would explain the observed diversity and the dominance of nonamylolytic lactic acid bacteria at the end of fermentation. These results are the first step to understanding the importance of ALAB during pozol fermentation.

New efficient amylase-producing strains of Lactobacillus plantarum and L. fermentum isolated from different Nigerian traditional fermented foods

Amylolytic lactic acid bacteria (ALAB) were isolated from Nigerian traditional fermented foods (fufu, burukutu, ogi-baba and kunu-zakki) with the aim of selecting efficient amylase-producing strains. Nine isolates were characterized on the basis of their phenotypic and taxo-molecular characteristics. Three groups could be distinguished by their fermentation profiles and this was confirmed by DNA restriction analysis. Though fermentation profiles gave good identification of strain K9 (unique representative of group III) as Lactobacillus fermentum, they could not be used to ascertain the taxonomic position of strains of groups I and II. Analysis of partial 16S rRNA sequences led to the identification of these groups as L. plantarum strains and confirmed the species of strain K9 as L. fermentum. The two distinct phenotypic groups of L. plantarum differed in their use of D-xylose, L-arabinose, melibiose and were different from the previously described amylolytic L. plantarum A6 isolated from retted cassava in Congo. L. fermentum K9 was different from L. fermentum OgiE1 and Mw2 isolated from Benin maize sourdough and it is the first amylolytic L. fermentum described from Nigerian fermented products. Enzymatic profiles showed some differences between the strains of a similar fermentation group. One of the most relevant characteristics of the isolates was a higher yield of amylase production than those reported for previously described ALAB grown under the same conditions. Furthermore, all isolates were tolerant to an exposure at pH 2 and to bile salts.

Effect of different cultivation conditions on Lactobacillus manihotivorans OND32T, an amylolytic lactobacillus isolated from sour starch cassava fermentation

Study of the cassava sour starch fermentation has led to the isolation of a new homofermentative amylolytic lactic acid bacterium, Lactobacillus manihotivorans OND32T, whose nutritional requirements have been investigated in this work. The main effect of deleting one of the substrate components of the MRS-starch medium was to reduce the amylase production. When starch fermentation with nitrogen as a gas phase was compared to fermentation under aerobic conditions, both growth and amylase production were reduced whereas lactic acid formation was not affected. Addition of carbon dioxide (> or = 20% v/v) to the nitrogen gas phase restored growth and amylase production. The amylase production was high with starch, maltose or cellobiose contrary to glucose, fructose and sucrose. During mixed fermentation of glucose and maltose, a diauxic growth was observed. The maltose consumption and the amylase production started after the glucose depletion. The presence of maltose altered the carbon assimilation from glucose, whereas the energetic pathway was not affected. It is concluded that the elimination of soluble sugars by the wet extraction of starch during the processing of cassava, together with the expected in situ CO2 production, are conditions favouring the growth and the amylase synthesis. However, these are likely to be limited by the low nitrogen content in cassava.