Volume 41, Issue Supp_1, August 2017

Phase-variable type I restriction–modification systems show potential for epigenetic control of gene expression.

Phage–host interactions are diverse and, consequently, dynamic in nature. In this review, the authors explore the key findings and technical approaches that have been pivotal in improving our understanding of LAB phage–host interactions, particularly those mediated by cell-wall-associated polysaccharides.

This review synthesizes phylogenetic, genomic and metabolic metadata with findings from ecological and population genetic studies to elucidate the natural history of species within the Lactobacillus genus. Based on this analysis, a model for the evolution of distinct lifestyles was proposed: lifestyles of lactobacilli range from free living to strictly host adapted, with substantial variation among species in terms of the reliance on environmental niches and the degree of host specificity.

Our aim is to highlight both the importance of the adequate selection of the animal model to test the potential probiotic strains and of the value of the knowledge generated by these in vivo tests.

This review summarizes our present knowledge of the lactate racemase system of Lactobacillus plantarum, composed of a lactate racemase, three biosynthetic enzymes, a transcriptional regulator, a nickel transporter and a lactic acid channel, and deduces its possible roles in lactic acid bacteria.

Genomic analyses of the main bacterium associated with grape and wine; Oenococcus oeni has shown diversity and two major cluster groups.

This review explores the biochemical pathways leading to production of a wide array of aroma compounds, the various industrial applications that have been developed around use of aroma compounds, as well as the newly uncovered physiological and ecological roles the various compounds may play.

The role of narrow-spectrum bacteriocins and phage to limit bacterial growth in food and in the human gut.

This review describes the recent findings regarding exocellular polysaccharide production in lactic acid bacteria, and provides an overview of their applications in food and future trends in polysaccharide research.

Environmental factors and cellular resource allocation form constraints that shape metabolic strategies and population dynamics, which eventually determines the outcome of laboratory evolution experiments.

An overview is given of the big strides that have been made over the past 50 years in the genetics and genomics analyses of Lactococcus lactis, with an emphasis on gene regulation in this important industrial microorganism.