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Updated: Jul 13, 2026

The Cultivation, Growth, and Viability of Lactic Acid Bacteria: A Quality Control Perspective
Published on: June 16, 2022
Lactobacillus crustorum sp. nov., isolated from two traditional Belgian wheat sourdoughs
Ilse Scheirlinck1,2, Roel Van der Meulen3, Ann Van Schoor1,2
1BCCM/LMG Bacteria Collection, Department of Biochemistry, Physiology and Microbiology, Ghent University, K. L. Ledeganckstraat 35, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium.
Abstract:
A polyphasic taxonomic study of the lactic acid bacteria (LAB) population in three traditional Belgian sourdoughs, sampled between 2002 and 2004, revealed a group of isolates that could not be assigned to any recognized LAB species. Initially, sourdough isolates were screened by means of (GTG)(5)-PCR fingerprinting. Four isolates displaying unique (GTG)(5)-PCR patterns were further investigated by means of phenylalanyl-tRNA synthase (pheS) gene sequence analysis and represented a bifurcated branch that could not be allocated to any LAB species present in the in-house pheS database. Their phylogenetic affiliation was determined using 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis and showed that the four sourdough isolates belong to the Lactobacillus plantarum group with Lactobacillus mindensis, Lactobacillus farciminis and Lactobacillus nantensis as closest relatives. Further genotypic and phenotypic studies, including whole-cell protein analysis (SDS-PAGE), amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) fingerprinting, DNA-DNA hybridization, DNA G+C content analysis, growth characteristics and biochemical features, demonstrated that the new sourdough isolates represent a novel Lactobacillus species for which the name Lactobacillus crustorum sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain of the new species is LMG 23699(T) (=CCUG 53174(T)).
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