The lactic acid fermentation is a worldwide method for cereal processing. Great diversity of fermented foods and drinks is produced with the participation of amylolytic lactic acid bacteria (ALAB). In the present study the ALAB content of the Bulgarian cereal beverage "boza" was investigated. Two strains, Bom 816 and N3, were found to possess significant amylolytic activity. The strains' identi...

Induced hairy roots by Agrobacterium rhizogenes are suitable organs for the production of secondary metabolites, due to the stability and high production of roots without phyhormones in a short time. Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum– graecum L.) is one of the most important medicinal plants with valuable medicinal compounds. For optimizing the hairy root induction of T. foenum-graecum L., six strai...

BACKGROUND Lactic acid bacteria of the genus Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium are one of the most important health promoting groups of the human intestinal microbiota. Their protective role within the gut consists in out competing invading pathogens for ecological niches and metabolic substrates. Among the features necessary to provide health benefits, commensal microorganisms must have the ab...

Manganese serves an important function in Lactobacillus plantarum in protection against oxidative stress and this bacterium can accumulate Mn(2+) up to millimolar levels intracellularly. Although the physiological role of Mn(2+) and the uptake of this metal ion have been well documented, the only uptake system described so far for this bacterium is the Mn(2+)- and Cd(2+)-specific P-type ATPase ...

The hypocholesterolemic effect of Lactobacillus plantarum AK strain was tested in rats fed high cholesterol diet. The lipid profile, growth rate and microflora dynamics of rats that received L. plantarum AK strain were significantly different from the control group (p < 0.5). In particular low density lipoprotein was lower in serum of rats that received L. plantarum than those of the control gr...

The aim of this study was to evaluate the phenotypic and genetic heterogeneity of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) isolated from "Alheira", a fermented sausage produced in Portugal. LAB were identified to genus and species level by phenotypic characteristics, using genus or species-specific primers and sequencing of the gene encoding 16S rRNA. Two-hundred and eighty-three isolates were grouped into 1...

Lactobacillus plantarum WCFS1 harbors three plasmids, pWCFS101, pWCFS102, and pWCFS103, with sizes of 1,917, 2,365, and 36,069 bp, respectively. The two smaller plasmids are of unknown function and contain replication genes that are likely to function via the rolling-circle replication mechanism. The host range of the pWCFS101 replicon includes Lactobacillus species and Lactococcus lactis, whil...

The fermentation of deoxyribose in Escherichia coli (1, 2) and in Lactobacillus plantarum (3, 4) appears to involve 2-deoxyribose 5-phosphate as an intermediate. Racker (2) has described an enzyme, deoxyribose phosphate aldolase, which catal.yzes the reversible cleavage of deoxyribose 5-phosphate to acetaldehyde and glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate. The enzyme occurs in E. coli and in animal tissues ...

A quantitative, real-time PCR method was developed to enumerate Lactobacillus plantarum IWBT B 188 during the malolactic fermentation (MLF) in Grauburgunder wine. The qRT-PCR was strain-specific, as it was based on primers targeting a plasmid DNA sequence, or it was L. plantarum-specific, as it targeted a chromosomally located plantaricin gene sequence. Two 50 l wine fermentations were prepared...

Extracts of Lactobucillus plantarum derived from cells grown on Larabinose contain an active isomerase, which converts L-arabinose to Lribulose (1, 2), and a ribulokinase, which catalyzes the formation of L-ribulose &phosphate (3,4). Such extracts also catalyze the conversion of L-ribulose 5-phosphate to D-xylulose 5-phosphate, which has been shown to be the key intermediate in pentose fermenta...