Isolation and characterization of lactic acid bacteria from Ukrainiantraditional dairy products

The aim of this study was to isolate, identify and analyze the diversity of the predominantlactic acid bacteria (LAB) genera occurring in Ukrainian traditionally prepared dairy products and toassess their potential for industrial application. Fermented milk, soured cream, cottage cheese andbryndza made from raw cow’s, goat’s or sheep’s milk were prepared on traditional way without theaddition of a starter culture. The samples were collected from 9 regions in Ukraine. In total 950strains of LAB strains were isolated and identified using phenotypic and genotypic methods. Among allisolates, <em>Enterococcus</em>sp. strains represented 60%,<em>Lactococcus</em>sp.—27%,<em>Lactobacillus</em>sp.—6%,<em>Leuconostoc</em>sp.—3.5% and<em>Pediococcus</em>sp.—3%. The diversity of the isolated LAB strains wascorrelated with the type of product and the source of milk. The milk clotting activity of isolated LABstrains was preliminary tested to assess their potential for industrial application as starter cultures.Most (54%) of the LAB strains isolated from Ukrainian traditional dairy products showed apotentially good acidifying activity and coagulated milk within 12 h. The milk coagulation rate wasnot strongly dependent on the LAB genus and was strain dependent. The time of milk clotting wascorrelated with product, from which strains were isolated. This is the first systematic study of theLAB diversity in Ukrainian artisanal dairy products, which can be a source of new LAB strains withgood technological and functional propertie