Genotypic and phenotypic diversity of Pediococcus pentosaceus strains isolated from food matrices and characterisation of the penocin operon

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are widely used in the food industry. Pediococcus spp. belong to the LAB group and include several species that are essential for the quality of fermented food. Pediococcus pentosaceus is the species that is most frequently isolated from fermented food and beverages but its uncontrolled growth during food fermentation processes can contribute to undesired flavours. Hence, the characterisation of these bacteria at the strain level is of great importance for the quality of fermented products. Despite their importance, misidentification at the species level is common for members of the genus Pediococcus. To clarify the taxonomic relationships among strains, a multilocus sequencing approach was developed for the characterisation of a collection of 29 field strains, 1 type strain and 1 reference strain of P. pentosaceus isolated from food. These strains were also tested for several phenotypic properties of technological interest and for the production of bacteriocins. The chromosomal operon involved in the synthesis of the bacteriocin penocin was also investigated. The present study enabled a good genomic characterisation, identifying 17 sequence types, with an overview of phenotypic characteristics related to different technological abilities, and also provides a thorough characterisation of the operon involved in penocin production.