Dissecting the Genetic Basis of the Technological, Functional, and Safety Characteristics of Lacticaseibacillus paracasei SRX10

• Published in: Microorganisms (Basel) Vol. 12; no. 1; p. 93
• Main Authors: Kamarinou, Christina S, Kiousi, Despoina E, Repanas, Panagiotis, Argyri, Anthoula A, Chorianopoulos, Nikos G, Galanis, Alex
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 01-01-2024; MDPI
• Subjects: Acetic acid; Acetoin; Annotations; Antibiotic resistance; Antibiotics; Aroma; Aroma compounds; Bacteria; Biosynthesis; Biotechnology; Carbon sources; Cheese; Dairy products; DNA sequencing; Drug resistance; Drug tolerance; Ethanol; Exopolysaccharides; Fermented milk products; Flavor compounds; Flavors; Food safety; Gene sequencing; Genes; Genetic aspects; Genomes; Genomics; Gram-positive bacteria; Lactic acid; Lactic acid bacteria; Lacticaseibacillus paracasei; metabolic capacity; Metabolism; Metabolites; Milk free; multiplex PCR; nonstarter lactic acid bacteria; Nucleotide sequencing; Organoleptic properties; Osmotic shock; Oxidation resistance; Oxidative stress; Phylogenetics; Physiological aspects; Protein biosynthesis; Proteins; RNA sequencing; Virulence; Virulence factors; Whole genome sequencing; Greece; United States > US; Germany; Lacticaseibacillus paracasei; multiplex PCR; nonstarter lactic acid bacteria; metabolic capacity; whole-genome sequencing
• ISSN: 2076-2607; 2076-2607
• DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms12010093

Nonstarter lactic acid bacteria (NSLAB) are major contributors to the unique characteristics (e.g., aroma, flavor, texture) of dairy and nondairy fermented products.
SRX10 is an NSLAB strain originally isolated from a traditional Greek cheese and previously shown to exhibit favorable biotechnological characteristics. More specifically, the strain showed tolerance to simulated gastrointestinal conditions, exopolysaccharide (EPS) biosynthetic capacity, and lack of hemolytic activity and was used in the production of yoghurt and feta cheese with distinct organoleptic characteristics. The aim of the present study was to investigate these traits at the genome level through whole-genome sequencing (WGS), annotation, and comparative genomics. Functional annotation of the genome revealed that
SRX10 can utilize different carbon sources, leading to the generation of flavor compounds, including lactic acid, acetate, ethanol, and acetoin. Similarly, full clusters for fatty acid biosynthesis, protein and peptide degradation, as well as genes related to survival under extreme temperatures, osmotic shock, and oxidative stress were annotated. Importantly, no transferable antibiotic resistance genes or virulence factors were identified. Finally, strain-specific primers based on genome-wide polymorphisms were designed for the efficient and rapid identification of
SRX10 via multiplex PCR in fermented products.