Investigation of the Lactic Acid Bacteria in Sauerkraut Fermentations by DNA fingerprinting

USDA-ARS, Department of Food Science, 322 Schaub Hall, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-7624, USA

	Abstract

Previous studies using traditional biochemical identification methods to study the ecology of commercial sauerkraut fermentations revealed that four lactic acid bacteria species, Leuconostoc mesenteroides, Lactobacillus plantarum, Pediococcus pentosaceus, and Lactobacillus brevis were the primary microorganisms in the fermentation. In this study 686 isolates were collected for analysis by DNA fingerprinting, from four commercial fermentations. The results indicate that the species of lactic acid bacteria present in sauerkraut fermentations are more diverse than previously reported, including Leuconostoc citreum, Leuconostoc argentinum, Lactobacillus paraplantarum, Lactobacillus coryniformis, and Weissella sp. The newly identified species, Leuconostoc fallax was also found. Unexpectedly, only 2 isolates of Pediococcus pentosaceus, and 15 isolates of Lactobacillus brevis were recovered during this study. A better understanding of the microbiota may aid the development of low salt fermentations, which may have altered microflora and altered sensory characteristics.