title: Improved growth of bifidobacteria by cocultivation with Lactococcus lactis subspecies lactis.
abstract: Cultivation of bifidobacteria in milk is a difficult and industrially valuable task. In this paper, we report the finding of a novel technique to improve the growth of bifidobacteria in dairy products and the results of mechanism studies. The growth of bifidobacteria in skim milk medium was found to be stimulated upon cocultivation with certain strains of Lactococcus lactis ssp. lactis. Bifidobacterium growth-stimulating (BGS) activity was observed on a wide range of bifidobacterial species. Bifidobacterium growth-stimulating activity was associated with the ability to grow in skim milk medium and the presence of a cell wall-anchored proteinase (PrtP) in Lc. lactis ssp. lactis. Studies on one strain, Lc. lactis ssp. lactis MCC857, showed that crude PrtP extracts and casein hydrolysates exhibited BGS activity. The casein hydrolysate BGS activity was found in the low molecular weight fraction by HPLC separation. A combination of 2 AA, Met and Leu, was found to account for a large portion of the casein hydrolysate BGS activity. In conclusion, this cocultivation system is highly efficient and industrially applicable for the production of fermented milk with high cell counts of bifidobacteria.
authors.affiliation: Food Science & Technology Institute, Morinaga Milk Industry Co. Ltd., Zama, Kanagawa 228-8583, Japan. s-yonezawa@morinagamilk.co.jp
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yonezawa
authors.forename: J Z
authors.initials: JZ
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Odamaki
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ishida
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Miyaji
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yaeshima
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Iwatsuki
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D001644:Bifidobacterium / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism; D043302:Cultured Milk Products / Q000382:microbiology*; D013294:Lactococcus lactis / Q000254:growth & development*; D008892:Milk / Q000382:microbiology
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins