An Mn(2+) and Cd(2+) uptake gene, mntA, was cloned from Lactobacillus plantarum ATCC 14917 into Escherichia coli. Its expression conferred on E. coli cells increased Cd(2+) sensitivity as well as energy-dependent Cd(2+) uptake activity. Both transcription and translation of mntA were induced by Mn(2+) starvation in L. plantarum, as indicated by reverse transcriptase PCR and immunoblotting. Two ...

In silico identification criteria were defined to predict if genes encoding histidine protein kinases (HPKs) and response regulators (RRs) could be part of peptide-based quorum sensing (QS) two-component regulatory systems (QS-TCSs) in Firmicutes. These criteria were used to screen HPKs and RRs annotated on the completed genome sequences of Lactobacillus species, and several (putative) QS-TCSs ...

Bacteriocin production in Lactobacillus plantarum NC8 is activated by coculture with specific bacteriocin production-inducing bacterial strains. The system is further regulated by a three-component regulatory system involving a specific autoinducer peptide (PLNC8IF). We have used L. plantarum NC8 as a starter culture in Spanish-style green olive fermentations and examined the influence of cocul...

Bread is a staple food consumed worldwide on a daily basis. Fungal contamination of bread is a critical concern for producers since it is related to important economic losses and safety hazards due to the negative impact of sensorial quality and to the potential occurrence of mycotoxins. In this work, Lactobacillus plantarum UFG 121, a strain with characterized broad antifungal activity, was an...

In this study, 119 bacterial strains were isolated from various samples such as healthy tilapia fish (Oreochromis niloticus), water and sediment around the culture fish-cages, and several kinds of traditional fermented foods. These bacterial isolates were screened for antibacterial activities against bacterial fish pathogens i.e. Aeromonas hydrophila, A. caviae and Streptococcus agalactiae usin...

BACKGROUND Lactobacillus plantarum is a food-grade microorganism with industrial and medical relevance belonging to the group of lactic acid bacteria (LAB). Traditional strategies for obtaining gene deletion variants in this organism are mainly vector-based double-crossover methods, which are inefficient and laborious. A feasible possibility to solve this problem is the recombineering, which gr...

The aim of the present study was to investigate the protective effect of Lactobacillus plantarum NDC 75017 on D-galactose (D-gal)-induced mitochondrial dysfunction in the rat cerebral cortex. Fifty rats were randomly divided into five groups (n=10 in each group). The rats in the aging model group were subcutaneously injected with 100 mg/kg D-gal and those in the protective groups were additiona...

In this work maltodextrins were added to commercial galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS) in a 1:1 ratio and their thermophysical characteristics were analyzed. GOS:MD solutions were then used as matrices during spray-drying of Lactobacillus plantarum CIDCA 83114. The obtained powders were equilibrated at different relative humidities (RH) and stored at 5 and 20°C for 12 weeks, or at 30°C for 6 weeks....

Situations of extremely low substrate availability, resulting in slow growth, are common in natural environments. To mimic these conditions, Lactobacillus plantarum was grown in a carbon-limited retentostat with complete biomass retention. The physiology of extremely slow-growing L. plantarum--as studied by genome-scale modeling and transcriptomics--was fundamentally different from that of stat...

Bacteriocinogenic cultures can represent a natural way to increase the safety of cheeses made from raw milk, in which a relevant role in ripening and flavor formation is exerted by the nonstarter lactic acid bacteria (NSLAB). Since the latter can be inhibited by bacteriocin producers, this study evaluated to which extent a nisinogenic culture inoculated at low initial levels can affect the grow...