title: Monitoring of Leuconostoc mesenteroides DRC starter in fermented vegetable by random integration of chloramphenicol acetyltransferase gene.
abstract: In 2004, Leuconostoc mesenteroides DRC was first used as a starter culture for achieving higher organoleptic effects in Korean kimchi manufacture. For a better understanding of starter growth in a mixed culture system, and for predicting starter predominance in kimchi, a monitoring system for the starter was established. The chloramphenicol resistance marker gene (cat) was randomly integrated into chromosomal DNA of L. mesenteroides DRC using a viral transposon and transposase. The DRC mutant, tDRC2, had a similar growth pattern to the host strain, with no major alteration in phenotypic characteristics. The mutant strain was inoculated into real kimchi, and monitoring of the starter population was successfully achieved. The overall predominance of Leuconostoc in kimchi inoculated with DRC followed the general growth pattern of this genus during kimchi fermentation. Our results also demonstrate the competitive ability of the DRC starter against Leuconostoc from natural flora, maintaining its predominance above 88% during the whole fermentation period. Based on this experiment, the random gene integration method using a transposon was shown to be of utility in transferring any commercial starter into a selectable and monitorable strain for simulation purposes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Science and Technology, Research Center for Bioresource and Health, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, 361-763, Korea.
authors.forename: Hyun-Ju
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Eom
authors.forename: Joong Min
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Min Jae
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Seo
authors.forename: Myoung-Dong
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Nam Soo
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Han
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D001937:Brassica / Q000378:metabolism*; D015500:Chloramphenicol O-Acetyltransferase / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D002876:Chromosomes, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements / Q000235:genetics; D005285:Fermentation; D005504:Food Analysis / Q000379:methods*; D005516:Food Microbiology; D007934:Leuconostoc / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016254:Mutagenesis, Insertional / Q000235:genetics*; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D015500:Chloramphenicol O-Acetyltransferase