Amino acid fermentation in non-starter Lactobacillus spp. isolated from cheddar cheese

Amino acid fermentation profiles of nine strains of Lactobacillus spp., initially isolated from a 3-year-old Cheddar cheese, were determined using the Biolog MT microplatetrade mark method. Eight of the isolates were able to ferment amino acids, but only when incubated in the presence of exogenously supplied alpha-ketoglutaric acid that served as an acceptor in the initial transamination step in the fermentative degradation. The range of amino acids catabolized was strain dependent. Amino acid catabolites were detected by gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GCMS) in culture supernatant fluids of a representative non-starter lactic acid bacteria isolate Lactobacillus paracasei CI6.