(Meta)genomic analyses of functional starter cultures for a technologic valorisation in the food industry (IWT523)

Functional starter cultures for food fermentation processes are starter cultures that possess extensive metabolic capacities to be competitive in a food matrix and that guarantee food safety and flavor development in the end products, beyond for instance the production of lactic acid. This is in contrast with industrial starter cultures that are often poorly adapted to a specific food environment, exhibit limited flexibility, and almost exclusively aim at acidification. Typically, selection of a suitable functional starter culture is primarily based on phenotypic characteristics, based on data from metabolite analyses and kinetic and modeling studies. However, this is no guarantee of a successful selection, since microorganisms can adapt their metabolism to survive in certain niches or under certain stress situations, at least when they possess the appropriate genetic potential. In addition, microorganisms such as lactic acid bacteria may possess negative attributes, such as antibiotic resistance genes, virulence genes, and genes coding for the production of undesired compounds, such as biogenic amines. Until recently, these properties were not taken into account, but they should be thoroughly genetically characterized. Therefore, determination of the genome sequence of functional starter cultures is the ultimate methodology to completely characterize the genetic and phenotypic potential of a microbial strain.

To identify suitable microbial strains as functional starter cultures that can control fermentation processes, it is necessary to profoundly characterize the species diversity and population dynamics of microorganisms present in artisan food fermentations, to link them with the metabolites formed, and subsequently, with the characteristics of the fermented end products. However, the current methods are unable to generate a complete overview of the species diversity and the metabolome. Therefore, a global overview of the population dynamics and metabolic potential of the microbiota involved in food fermentations is lacking. Determination of the metagenome of a sample originating from a given food fermentation will enable a unique insight into both the species diversity and the metabolic potential of the microorganisms present.

Trefwoorden:Applied Biology

Disciplines:Biologische wetenschappen