Characterization of lactic acid bacteria isolated from Bosnian artisanal dry fermented sausage (sudžuk) during fermentation

Bosnian sudžuk is a dry fermented sausage produced in a rural household near the town of Visoko in central Bosnia and Herzegovina. This kind of sausage was manufactured only from beef and spices in a traditional way without the addition of a starter cultures. To identify lactic acid bacteria (LAB), a total number of 160 Lstrains were isolated from five samples of Bosnian sudžuk collected over 28 days of fermentation. Preliminary identification by phenotypic tests and 16S rDNA sequencing were performed for all 160 of the Lisolates. Identification of Lstrains from traditionally produced Bosnian sausage at the species level revealed the presence of six genera: Lactococcus sp., Enterococcus sp., Leuconostoc sp., Lactobacillus sp., Pediococcus sp. and Weissella sp.. Among the 15 distinct species identified, the species Lactobacillus plantarum, Leuconostoc mesenteroides, Lactococcus lactis, Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus durans were present throughout the entire process of fermentation. Leuconostoc mesenteroides, Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactococcus lactis prevailed, with 21.8%, 19.3% and 13.1%, respectively, of total Lstrains during the entire fermentation process. Significant negative correlations (r = 0.892 and r = 0.829, respectively) between the presence of Weissella sp. and Lactobacillus sp., and between the presence of Weissella sp. and Lactococcus sp. were recorded. Lactobacillus plantarum, Enterococcus durans and Leuconostoc mesenteroides were the best producers of aromogenic compounds while 32.3% of Lactobacillus plantarum and 28.6% of Leuconostoc mesenteroides were produced exopolysaccharides. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 173019