Molecular identification of probiotic bacteria in milk products form commercial yoghurt cultures

Lactic acid bacteria are considered as an important group of bacteria with probiotic effects, which are being widely used in the food industry or pharmacology. Identification and characterization of important probiotic strains play an essential role in the validation of probiotic products for commercial purposes. Their identification using molecular-biology techniques (most commonly PCR method) is one of the standard tools in commercial operations and services. The aim of this bachelor thesis is a literature review of probiotics and probiotic strains as well as a summary of current knowledge about the use of molecular biology techniques for identification of these bacteria with probiotic properties in dairy products. The experimental part of this work verifies the presence of probiotic bacteria declared on selected commercial dairy products using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method