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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, September 2000, p. 3764-3772, Vol. 66, No. 9
0099-2240/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Characterization of Leuconostoc gasicomitatum sp. nov., Associated with Spoiled Raw Tomato-Marinated Broiler Meat Strips Packaged under Modified-Atmosphere Conditions

K. Johanna Björkroth,1,* Rolf Geisen,2 Ulrich Schillinger,2 Norbert Weiss,3 Paul De Vos,4 Wilhelm H. Holzapfel,2 Hannu J. Korkeala,1 and Peter Vandamme4

Department of Food and Environmental Hygiene, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland1; Institute for Hygiene and Toxicology, Federal Research Centre for Nutrition, Karlsruhe,2 and German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures, Braunschweig,3 Germany; and Laboratory of Microbiology, University of Ghent, Ghent, Belgium4

Received 15 February 2000/Accepted 7 June 2000

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) associated with gaseous spoilage of modified-atmosphere-packaged, raw, tomato-marinated broiler meat strips were identified on the basis of a restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) (ribotyping) database containing DNAs coding for 16S and 23S rRNAs (rDNAs). A mixed LAB population dominated by a Leuconostoc species resembling Leuconostoc gelidum caused the spoilage of the product. Lactobacillus sakei, Lactobacillus curvatus, and a gram-positive rod phenotypically similar to heterofermentative Lactobacillus species were the other main organisms detected. An increase in pH together with the extreme bulging of packages suggested a rare LAB spoilage type called "protein swell." This spoilage is characterized by excessive production of gas due to amino acid decarboxylation, and the rise in pH is attributed to the subsequent deamination of amino acids. Protein swell has not previously been associated with any kind of meat product. A polyphasic approach, including classical phenotyping, whole-cell protein electrophoresis, 16 and 23S rDNA RFLP, 16S rDNA sequence analysis, and DNA-DNA reassociation analysis, was used for the identification of the dominant Leuconostoc species. In addition to the RFLP analysis, phenotyping, whole-cell protein analysis, and 16S rDNA sequence homology indicated that L. gelidum was most similar to the spoilage-associated species. The two spoilage strains studied possessed 98.8 and 99.0% 16S rDNA sequence homology with the L. gelidum type strain. DNA-DNA reassociation, however, clearly distinguished the two species. The same strains showed only 22 and 34% hybridization with the L. gelidum type strain. These results warrant a separate species status, and we propose the name Leuconostoc gasicomitatum sp. nov. for this spoilage-associated Leuconostoc species.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Food and Environmental Hygiene, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 57, FIN-00014 Helsinki University, Finland. Phone: 358-9-19149705. Fax: 358-9-19149718. E-mail: johanna.bjorkroth{at}helsinki.fi.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, September 2000, p. 3764-3772, Vol. 66, No. 9
0099-2240/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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