This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Suzuki, K.
Right arrow Articles by Yamashita, H.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Suzuki, K.
Right arrow Articles by Yamashita, H.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Suzuki, K.
Right arrow Articles by Yamashita, H.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, September 2005, p. 5089-5097, Vol. 71, No. 9
0099-2240/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.71.9.5089-5097.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Isolation of a Hop-Sensitive Variant of Lactobacillus lindneri and Identification of Genetic Markers for Beer Spoilage Ability of Lactic Acid Bacteria

Koji Suzuki,* Kazumaru Iijima, Kazutaka Ozaki, and Hiroshi Yamashita

Analytical Technology Laboratory, Asahi Breweries Ltd., 1-21 Midori 1-chome, Moriya-shi, Ibaraki 302-0106, Japan

Received 3 October 2004/ Accepted 29 March 2005

We have isolated a hop-sensitive variant of the beer spoilage bacterium Lactobacillus lindneri DSM 20692. The variant lost a plasmid carrying two contiguous open reading frames (ORF s) designated horBL and horCL that encode a putative regulator and multidrug transporter presumably belonging to the resistance-nodulation-cell division superfamily. The loss of hop resistance ability occurred with the loss of resistance to other drugs, including ethidium bromide, novobiocin, and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide. PCR and Southern blot analysis using 51 beer spoilage strains of various species of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) revealed that 49 strains possessed homologs of horB and horC. No false-positive results have been observed for nonspoilage LAB or frequently encountered brewery isolates. These features are superior to those of horA and ORF 5, previously reported genetic markers for determining the beer spoilage ability of LAB. It was further shown that the combined use of horB/horC and horA is able to detect all 51 beer spoilage strains examined in this study. Furthermore sequence comparison of horB and horC homologs identified in four different beer spoilage species indicates these homologs are 96.6 to 99.5% identical, which is not typical of distinct species. The wide and exclusive distribution of horB and horC homologs among beer spoilage LAB and their sequence identities suggest that the hop resistance ability of beer spoilage LAB has been acquired through horizontal gene transfer. These insights provide a foundation for applying trans-species genetic markers to differentiating beer spoilage LAB including previously unencountered species.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Analytical Technology Laboratory, Asahi Breweries Ltd., 1-21 Midori 1-chome, Moriya-shi, Ibaraki 302-0106, Japan. Phone: 81-297-46-1826. Fax: 81-297-46-1829. E-mail: koji.suzuki{at}asahibeer.co.jp.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, September 2005, p. 5089-5097, Vol. 71, No. 9
0099-2240/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.71.9.5089-5097.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.





Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»