• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.341-348
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• 2010

Weissella species are one of the most common lactic acid bacteria isolated from kimchi during kimchi fermentation but few researches have been done on this group of organisms. Its recent establishment as a separate genus is one reason for the few studies. Another reason is probably poor resolution of identification methods based on biochemical properties. Currently, 14 species are registered in the genus of Weissella but new members are reported continuously. It is important to understand at detail the properties and roles of Weissella species during kimchi fermentation if desirable properties of Weissella species are fully utilized for the production of high quality kimchi with good taste and enhanced biofunctionalities.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.339-345
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• 2009

Two lactic acid bacteria (LAB) with high ornithine-producing capacity were isolated from kimchi. Examination of the biochemical features using an API kit indicated that the strains belonged to the members of Weissella genus. They were gram positive, short rod-type bacteria, and able to grow anaerobically with $CO_2$ production. The isolates grew well on MRS broth at $25\sim37^{\circ}C$ and pH of 6.0~7.0. The optimum temperature and pH for growth are $30^{\circ}C$ and pH 6.5. The isolates fermented arabinose, ribose, xylose, glucose but not cellobiose, galactose, raffinose, or trehalsoe. The 16S rDNA sequences of isolates showed 99.6% and 99.7% homology with the Weissella koreensis S5623 16S rDNA (access no. AY035891). They were accordingly identified and named as Weissella koreensis OK1-4 and Weissella koreensis OK1-6, and could produce ornithine from MRS broth supplemented with 1% of arginine at a productivity of 27.01 and 31.41 mg/L/h, respectively. This is the first report on the production of ornithine by the genus Weissella isolated from kimchi.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.175-181
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• 2011

Kimchi is a group of traditional fermented vegetable foods in Korea and known to be the product of a natural mixed-fermentation process carried out principally by lactic acid bacteria (LAB). According to microbial results based on conventional identification, Leuconostoc mesenteroides and Lactobacillus plantarum were considered to be responsible for the good taste and over-ripening of kimchi, respectively. However, with the application of phylogenetic identification, based on 16S ribosomal RNA gene similarities, a variety of Leuconostoc and Lactobacillus species not detected in the previous studies have been isolated, together with a species in the genus Weissella. Additionally, Lactobacillus sakei has been accepted as the most populous LAB in over-ripened kimchi. In this study, Leuconostoc and Weissella species inhibiting the growth of Lb. sakei were isolated from kimchi for future applications to do with kimchi fermentation. From 25 kimchi samples, 378 strains in the genera Leuconostoc and Weissella were isolated and 68 strains identified as Lc. mesenteroides, Lc. citreum, Lc. lactis, W. cibaria, W. confusa, and W. paramesenteroides exhibited growth inhibition against Lb. sakei. Most of the strains also had antagonistic activities against Lb. brevis, Lb. curvatus, Lb. paraplantarum, Lb. pentosus, and Lb. plantarum. Their antagonistic activities against Lb. sakei were more remarkable at lower temperatures of incubation.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.455-460
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• 2010

A polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis was applied to detect and identify ten Weissella spp. frequently found in kimchi. The previously reported genus-specific primers designed from 16S rDNA sequences of Weissella spp. were adopted but PCR was performed at the increased annealing temperature by $4^{\circ}C$. The sizes of amplified PCR products and restricted fragments produced by AluI, MseI, and BceAI endonucleases were well correspond with the expected sizes. W. kandleri, W. koreensis, W. confusa, W. minor, W. viridescens, W. cibaria, and W. soli were distinguished by AluI and MseI and W. hellenica and W. paramesenteroides were identified by BceAI. W. thailandensis was distinguished when restriction pattern of other species was compared but identified by the single use of MspI.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.943-946
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• 2017

Although the genus Leuconostoc, generally found in various fermented foods, has often been suggested to be a novel probiotic for food fermentation and health promotion, the strains in this genus showed low acid tolerance and low osmotic stress resistance activities, which are required for survival during food fermentation events. Recently, a novel species of Weissella, W. jogaejeotgali $FOL01^T$ (= KCCM 43128 = JCM 30580), was isolated from Korean fermented clams. To determine the genomic features of this new species, its genome was completely sequenced and analyzed. The genome consists of a circular chromosome of 2,114,163 bp of DNA with a G+C content of 38.8%, and the plasmid pFOL01 consists of 35,382 bp of DNA with a G+C content of 39.1%. The genome analysis showed its potential for use in food fermentation and osmotic stress resistance abilities for processing in food industries. In addition, this strain was predicted to have acid tolerance and adhesion to the mucosal layer for survival and colonization in the gut. Subsequent experiments substantiated these abilities, suggesting that W. jogaejeotgali may have probiotic potential and a high survival rate during food fermentation. Therefore, it may be suitable as a novel probiotic strain for various applications in food industries.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.238-242
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• 2009

Pediococci selective medium (PSM) supplemented with ampicillin (A) reported as valid for the detection and enumeration of pediococci included in foods and animal feed was evaluated for the selective detection of the genus Pediococcus in kimchi. PSM is based on the complex basal medium MRS supplemented with cysteine hydrochloride, vancomycin, novobiocin, and nystatin. In the medium evaluation with known species, the growth inhibition of leuconostocs, Pediococcus pentosaceus, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus curvatus, Oenococcus oeni, and Streptococcus thermophilus was not confirmed. In the application of kimchi samples on the selective medium, leuconostocs, P. pentosaceus, Weissella koreensis, Lb. curvatus, Lactobacillus brevis, and Lactobacillus sakei were detected. PSM+A was proved to be not applicable for the detection of pediococci in kimchi.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.31 no.12
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• pp.1079-1087
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• 2021

To analyze gut microbiota of livestock in Korea and compare taxonomic differences, we conducted 16S rRNA metagenomic analysis through next-generation sequencing. Fecal samples from broiler chickens, pigs, and cattle were collected from domestic feedlots randomly. α-diversity results showed that significant differences in estimated species richness estimates (Chao1 and ACE, Abundance-based coverage estimators) and species richness index (OUTs, Operational taxonomic units) were identified among the three groups. However, NPShannon, Shannon, and Simpson indices revealed that abundance and evenness of the species were statistically significant only for poultry (broiler chickens) and mammals (pigs and cattle). Firmicutes was the most predominant phylum in the three groups of fecal samples. Linear discriminant (LDA) effect size (LEfSe) analysis was conducted to reveal the ranking order of abundant taxa in each of the fecal samples. A size-effect over 2.0 on the logarithmic LDA score was used as a discriminative functional biomarker. As shown by the fecal analysis at the genus level, broiler chickens were characterized by the presence of Weissella and Lactobacillus, as well as pigs were characterized by the presence of provetella and cattele were characterized by the presence of Acinetobacter. A permutational multivariate analysis of variance (PERMANOVA) showed that differences of microbial clusters among three groups were significant at the confidence level. (p=0.001). This study provides basic data that could be useful in future research on microorganisms associated with performance growth, as well as in studies on the livestock gut microbiome to increase productivity in the domestic livestock industry.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.68-76
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• 2006

Despites many attempts to explore the microbial diversity in kimchi fermentation, the predominant flora remains controversial to date. In the present study, major lactic acid bacteria (LAB) were investigated in Chinese cabbage kimchi in the early phase of fermention. For the samples over pH 4.0, viable cell counts of Leuconostoc and Pediococcus were $10^6\;cfu/ml$ and below $10^2\;cfu/ml$, respectively, and 20 isolates out of 172 were subjected to a biochemical identification (API 50 CH kit) as well as molecular-typing methods including ITSPCR with a RsaI digestion and 16s rRNA gene sequence analysis for species confirmation. Seven isolates were nicely assigned to Lb. brevis, 6 to Leuconostoc spp. (2 mesenteroides, 2 citreum, I carnosum, I gasicomitatum), 4 to Weissella (3 kimchii/cibaria, 1 hanii) and 2 to other Lactobacillus spp. (1 farciminis, 1 plantarum). On the other hand, the biochemical identification data revealed 9 strains of Lb. brevis, 6 strains of Leuconostocs,2 strains of Lb. plantarum and 1 strain each of Lb. coprophilus and Lactococcus lactis. However, a single isolates, YSM 16, was not matched to the ITS-PCR database constructed in the present study. Two Lb. brevis strains by API 50 CH kit were reassigned to W kimchii/cibaria, Lb. coprophilus or W hanii, respectively, judging from the results by the above molecular typing approaches. As a whole, the identification data obtained by the biochemical test were different from those of ITS-PCR molecular method by about $63\%$ at genus-level and $42\%$ at species-level. The data by the ITS-PCR method conclusively suggest that predominant LAB species is probably heterolactic Lb. brevis, followed by W kimchii/cibaria, Leuc. mesenteroides, and Leuc. citreum, in contrast to the previous reports [3] that Leuc. mesenteroides is the only a predominant species in the early phase kimchi fermentation.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.945-951
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• 2013

Changes in fermentation properties and ornithine levels of Baechu Kimchi by storage conditions were investigated. After making and fermenting Kimchi at $15^{\circ}C$ for 32 hr (S1), 36 hr (S2), 40 hr (S3), 44 hr (S4), and 48 hr (S5) during the first 10 days of storage. The Kimchi samples are subsequently stored in the -$1^{\circ}C$ Kimchi refrigerator for up to 60 days. Changes in the pH values and lactic acid contents of S4 and S5 samples are slightly bigger than the S1, S2 and S3 samples which have no significance differences. According to lactic acid bacteria (LAB) number, all samples show the largest augmentation according to the number of Lactobacilli during the first 20 days of storage. After 20 days of storage, the S4 and S5 samples show larger accumulations of LAB than S1, S2 and S3 samples. The Weissella genus is predominated at the 40 day of storage in the S5 sample. Ornithine levels are increased up to 170mg per 100 g during the storage period of 40~50 days in the S5 sample. However, the increase of ornithine levels in S1, S2 and S3 samples is smaller than those of the S4 and S5 samples. These results indicate that the conditions of Kimchi fermentation, which is 48 hr at $15^{\circ}C$ before storage, is proved to be the most superior for ornithine levels within the Kimchi refrigerator.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.1-5
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• 2024

Understanding changes in fermentation characteristics and microbial populations of forage silage during ensiling is of interest for improving the nutrient value of the feed for ruminants. This study was conducted to investigate the changes in fermentation characteristics and bacterial communities of whole crop rice (WCR) silage during the ensiling period. The chemical compositions, pH, organic acids and bacterial communities were evaluated at 0, 3, 6, and 12 months after ensiling. The bacterial communities were classified at both the genus and species levels. The dry matter content of WCR silage decreased with the length of storage (p<0.05), but there was no significant difference in crude protein and NDF contents. Following fermentation, the pH level of WCR silage was lower than the initial level. The lactic acid content remained at high levels for 3 to 6 months after ensiling, followed by a sharp decline at 12 months (p<0.05). Before fermentation, the WCR was dominated by Weissella (30.8%) and Pantoea (20.2%). Growth of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum (31.4%) was observed at 3 months after ensiling. At 6 months, there was a decrease in Lactiplantibacillus plantarum (10.2%) and an increase in Levilactobacillus brevis (12.8%), resulting in increased bacteria diversity until that period. The WCR silage was dominated by Lentilactobacillus buchneri (71.2%) and Lacticaseibacillus casei (27.0%) with a sharp reduction in diversity at 12 months. Overall, the WCR silage maintained satisfactory fermentation quality over a 12-month ensiling period. Furthermore, the fermentation characteristics of silage were found to be correlated to bacterial microbiome.