Identification of pediococci by ribotyping

• Published in: Journal of applied microbiology Vol. 88; no. 2; pp. 260 - 265
• Main Authors: Satokari, R., Mattila‐Sandholm, T., Suihko, M. ‐L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Science Ltd 01.02.2000; Blackwell Science
• Subjects: Bacterial Typing Techniques; Beer - microbiology; Beers; Biological and medical sciences; Blotting, Southern; Deoxyribonuclease EcoRI - metabolism; DNA Fingerprinting; DNA, Bacterial - analysis; DNA, Bacterial - genetics; DNA, Bacterial - metabolism; DNA, Ribosomal - analysis; DNA, Ribosomal - genetics; Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; Evaluation Studies as Topic; Fermented food industries; Food industries; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Genotype; Pediococcus; Pediococcus - classification; Pediococcus - genetics; Phenotype; Reagent Kits, Diagnostic; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S - genetics; Sequence Analysis, DNA; Brewery; Streptococcaceae; Restriction fragment length polymorphism; Ribosomal DNA; Bacteria; Micrococcales; Pediococcus; Identification; Method; Biological contamination; Beer
• ISSN: 1364-5072; 1365-2672
• DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-2672.2000.00956.x

Pediococci are among the most prevalent microbial contaminants in breweries and they can cause ropiness and the accumulation of high levels of diacetyl in beer. The accurate identification of pediococci is important, because different species do not possess equal spoilage potential. In this study, 18 Pediococcus strains, mainly of brewery origin, were first identified using phenotypical characterization (API 50 CHL and SDS‐PAGE profiling), and then ribotyped using a RiboPrinterR System. Six Pediococcus type strains and three other Pediococcus strains were used as references. Ribotyping showed higher discriminative capacity than phenotypical identification methods. Strains could be identified to species level and in many cases, differentiated even at strain level using this genetic fingerprinting method. The identifications performed by ribotyping were confirmed by 16S rDNA sequencing of selected strains. Automated ribotyping was found to be a rapid and reliable method for identifying pediococci, but requires the construction of a comprehensive fingerprint library.