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Appl. Environ. Microbiol. doi:10.1128/AEM.02771-07
Copyright (c) 2008, American Society for Microbiology and/or the Listed Authors/Institutions. All Rights Reserved.

Taxonomic structure and stability of the bacterial community in Belgian sourdough ecosystems assessed by culturing and population fingerprinting

Laboratory of Microbiology, and BCCM/LMG Bacteria Collection, Department of Biochemistry, Physiology and Microbiology, Ghent University, K.L. Ledeganckstraat 35, B-9000 Ghent; Research Group of Industrial Microbiology and Food Biotechnology, Department of Applied Biological Sciences and Engineering, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: Ilse.Scheirlinck{at}ugent.be.

	Abstract

A total of 39 traditional sourdoughs were sampled at 11 bakeries located throughout Belgium which were visited twice with a one-year interval. The taxonomic structure and stability of the bacterial communities occurring in these traditional sourdoughs were assessed using both culture-dependent and culture- independent methods. A total of 1194 potential lactic LAB isolates were tentatively grouped and identified by repetitive element sequence-based PCR (rep-PCR), followed by sequence-based identification using 16S rRNA and pheS genes of a selection of genotypically unique LAB isolates. In parallel, all samples were analyzed by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) of V3-16S rRNA gene amplicons. In addition, extensive metabolite target analysis of more than 100 different compounds was performed. Both culturing and DGGE analysis showed that the species Lactobacillus sanfranciscensis, Lactobacillus paralimentarius, Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus pontis dominated the LAB population of Belgian type I sourdoughs. In addition, DGGE band sequence analysis demonstrated the presence of Acetobacter sp. and a member of the Erwinia/Enterobacter/Pantoea group in some samples. Overall, the culture-dependent and culture-independent approaches each exhibited intrinsic limitations in assessing bacterial LAB diversity in Belgian sourdoughs. Irrespective of the LAB biodiversity, the large majority of the sugar and amino acid metabolites were detected in all sourdough samples. Principal component-based analysis of biodiversity and metabolic data revealed only little variation among the two samples of the sourdoughs produced at the same bakery. The rare cases of instability observed could generally be linked with variations in technological parameters or differences in detection capacity between culture-dependent and culture-independent approaches. Within a sampling interval of one year, this study reinforces previous observations that bakery environment rather than type or batch of flour largely determines the development of a stable LAB population in sourdoughs.