Lactic Acid Bacteria as Starter Cultures in Food: Genome Characterization and Comparative Genomics

Fermented food products are consumed by about 30% of the world's population due to their high nutritional value and health properties. The use of LAB in the fermentation process has resulted in a variety of fermented food products derived from both plant and animal sources. LAB have been used as starter cultures for food fermentation both traditionally and industrially, having certain specific characteristics such as rapid growth, product yield, higher biomass and also unique organoleptic properties, and are employed in food fermentation. The advancement of highthroughput genome sequencing methods has resulted in a tremendous improvement in our understanding of LAB physiology and has become more essential in the field of food microbiology. The complete genome sequence of Lactococcus lactis in 2001 resulted in a better understanding of metabolic properties and industrial applications of LAB. Genes associated with β-galactosidase, antimicrobial agents, bile salt hydrolase, exopolysaccharide, and GABA producing LAB have received a lot of attention in recent years. Genome editing techniques are required for the development of strains for novel applications and products. They can also play an important part as a research method for acquiring mechanistic insights and identifying new properties. The genome editing of lactic acid bacterial strains has a lot of potential applications for developing functional foods with a favourable influence on the food industries.

Keywords: Functional food, Genes, Genome editing, Lactic acid bacteria, LAB genome, Metagenomics, Sequencing-approaches, Starter culture.