PhD thesis of Sébastien Matamoros (2005-2008)

Lactic acid bacteria strains were isolated from seafood products and clustered according to their inhibiting capacities against 14 food borne spoiling and pathogenic strains in order to develop applications in biopreservation. Most of the strains were identified as Leuconostoc gelidum and Lactococcus piscium. Detailed identification of one strain of the Lactococcus piscium strains suggests that it is a new specie. According to sensory analysis results, 2 strains belonging to the Leuconostoc gelidum specie were the most efficient for the enhancement of the shelf life of vacuum packed peeled and cooked shrimps. Similar results were obtained in cold smoked salmon with one strains of Lactococcus sp. A challenge test against three pathogenic strains (Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus and Vibrio cholerae) was performed in cold smoked salmon. The Lc. sp. EU2241 strain (non bacteriocinogenic) enabled a more efficient inhibition of the pathogens than the Ln. gelidum EU2247 strain (bacteriocinogenic). The maximum recorded inhibition was 2 logs compared to the uninoculated samples. Growth characteristics of strain Lc. sp. EU2241 were determined at different temperatures showed an optimal growth at 26°C and no growth at 29°C or above. Proteomic analysis showed a cold shock protein overproduction during growth at 5°C. The gene coding for this protein was identified and sequenced. Overproduction of a cold shock protein during growth at suboptimal temperature has never been described in a lactic acid bacterium before.