Project description:From July 2003 through October 2004, 42 patients became infected by strains of Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. mesenteroides (genotype 1) in different departments of Juan Canalejo Hospital in northwest Spain. During 2006, 6 inpatients, also in different departments of the hospital, became infected (genotypes 2–4). Parenteral nutrition was the likely source.
Project description:Leuconostoc mesenteroides strains are common contributors in fermented foods producing a wide variety of polysaccharides from sucrose through glycosyltransferases (GTFs). These polymers have been proposed as protective barriers against acidity, dehydration, heat, and oxidative stress. Despite its presence in many traditional fermented products and their association with food functional properties, regulation of GTFs expression in Ln. mesenteroides is still poorly understood. The strain Ln. mesenteroides ATCC 8293 contains three glucansucrases genes not found in operons, and three fructansucrases genes arranged in two operons, levLX and levC-scrB, a Glycoside-hydrolase. We described the first differential gene expression analysis of this strain when cultivated in different carbon sources. We observed that while GTFs are expressed in the presence of most sugars, they are down-regulated in xylose. We ruled out the regulatory effect of CcpA over GTFs and did not find regulatory elements with a direct effect on glucansucrases in the condition assayed. Our findings suggest that only operon levLX is repressed in xylose by LexA and that both fructansucrases operons can be regulated by the VicK/VicR system and PerR. It is essential to further explore the effect of environmental conditions in Ln. mesenteroides bacteria to better understand GTFs regulation and polymer function.
Project description:Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. mesenteroides is one of the most predominant lactic acid bacterial groups during kimchi fermentation. Here, we report the complete genome sequence of L. mesenteroides subsp. mesenteroides J18, which was isolated from kimchi. The genome of the strain consists of a 1,896,561-bp chromosome and five plasmids.
Project description:Leuconostoc mesenteroides includes strains used as starter and/or adjunct cultures for the production of several fermented foods. In this study, the effect of anaerobic and respiratory cultivations, as well as of citrate supplementation and different pH values, was evaluated on growth, biomass, metabolite, and enzymatic activities (pyruvate oxidase, POX; NADH-dependent oxidase, NOX; NADH-dependent peroxidase, NPR) of Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. cremoris E30. We compared the respiration-increased growth rate and biomass production of Leuc. mesenteroides E30 to anaerobic cultivation. A supplementation of citrate impaired the growth rate of the respiratory cells. As expected, anaerobic cultures did not consume oxygen, and a similar trend in oxygen uptake was observed in respiratory cultures. The aerobic incubation caused changes in the metabolic pattern, reducing the production of ethanol in favour of acetic acid. Citrate was already exhausted in the exponential phase and did not affect the yields in acetic acid and ethanol. NOX activity increased in the presence of oxygen, while catalase was also detected in the absence of hemin. The absence of H2O2 suggested its degradation by NPR and catalase. Respiratory cultivation provided benefits (increase in growth rate, biomass, and activity in antioxidant enzymes) for Leuc. mesenteroides E30. Therefore, the exploitation of respiratory phenotypes may be useful for the formulation of competitive starter or adjunct cultures.