Biochemical and molecular characterization of fermented cabbage and soybeans using starter culture

The aim of this study was to characterize starter cultures of LAB (lactic acid bacterium) and Bacillus spp. for controlled fermentation of cabbage and soybeans to achieve desired products. Cultured isolates were studied morphologically and revalidated using biochemical and molecular methods. Extracted DNA was amplified using two specific primers. Banding pattern at 1500bp showed the presence of LAB and Bacillus subtilis DNA amplified. La57 primer amplified amino acid antiporter gene that identified LAB while ENIF primer amplified endoglucanase gene that identified B. subtilis. The16S ribosomal RNA was sequenced using the Sanger’s method for strain specific identification. As a result, the test organisms were morphologically identified as Pediococcus spp and B. subtilis. They differed in the type enzyme production (4:7 respectively). Sequence alignment identified them as Pediococcus pentosaceus strain DSM20336 (LAB) and B. subtilis subsp. subtilis strain 168. This is the novelty in this work. Results showed that P. pentosaceus induced ferments contained the least number of isolates in cabbage (Lactobacillus spp., Streptococcus spp. and Pediococcus spp) and soybean (Bacillus spp., Streptococcus spp. and Pediococcus spp) unlike in spontaneous fermentation where 8-9 bacterial isolates were recorded. The study identified potential fermenting strains of bacteria that could be employed as potential starter culture in the industrial fermentation of vegetable and legume foods to boost food security in Nigeria. These findings have industrial and economic benefits.