Bacteria checkmate yeasts and mouldsApril 01, 2005Lactic acid bacteria are found in many foods, for example, yoghurt, cheese or sauerkraut. These bacteria are desirable, as they change the taste and consistency of a raw material in such a way that a completely new foodstuff is created. In the manufacture of cheese, propionic acid bacteria also play an important role. They are responsible for the holes and the special taste of Emmental cheese. In a project of the Swiss National Science Foundation, researchers at the Laboratory of Food Biotechnology of ETH Zurich have discovered that these two groups of bacteria have other very useful properties. Combination of bacteria is effective In extensive studies, researchers at ETH have isolated over 1000 different bac-teria from foodstuffs. They found 80 strains of lactic acid bacteria and ten strains of propionic acid bacteria that inhibited the growth of yeasts and moulds in yoghurt containing fresh fruit. A specific combination of lactic acid bacteria and propionic acid bacteria proved to be particularly effective. This culture extended the shelf-life of artificially contaminated yoghurt by more than two weeks. Precise identification as the basis for safe bacterial strains To be sure that the bacteria chosen are safe, harmless strains, researchers at ETH have accurately characterised and identified them. For this, they carried out microscopic investigations and biochemical tests. Additional detailed mo-lecular biological investigations then enabled a very accurate and reliable identification to be made. Search for the active mechanism Out of the originally large number of bacterial strains, a combination of two strains has recently successfully reached the market. It is now being sold as a protective culture. The work of ETH researchers on this is not yet at an end. In a follow-up project, they are working together with industry to investigate why this protective culture is so effective against yeasts and moulds. The first products of metabolism from the culture have already been isolated, but the precise mechanism and the interaction between the two strains is still an exciting mystery that ETH researchers want to solve. ETH Zuerich |
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| Related Bacteria Current Events and Bacteria News Articles Factors from common human bacteria may trigger multiple sclerosis Current research suggests that a common oral bacterium may exacerbate autoimmune disease. The related report by Nichols et al, "Unique Lipids from a Common Human Bacterium Represent a New Class of TLR2 Ligands Capable of Enhancing Autoimmunity," appears in the December 2009 issue of The American Journal of Pathology. Exposure to both traffic, indoor pollutants puts some kids at higher risk for asthma later New research presents strong evidence that the "synergistic" effect of early-life exposure to both outdoor traffic-related pollution and indoor endotoxin causes more harm to developing lungs than one or the other exposure alone. New study finds MRSA on the rise in hospital outpatients The community-associated strain of the deadly superbug MRSA-an infection-causing bacteria resistant to most common antibiotics-poses a far greater health threat than previously known and is making its way into hospitals, according to a study in the December issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases. Researchers establish common seasonal pattern among bacterial communities in Arctic rivers New research on bacterial communities throughout six large Arctic river ecosystems reveals predictable temporal patterns, suggesting that scientists could use these communities as markers for monitoring climate change in the polar regions. Biologists discover bacterial defense mechanism against aggressive oxygen Bacteria possess an ingenious mechanism for preventing oxygen from harming the building blocks of the cell. Saving the single cysteine: new antioxidant system found We've all read studies about the health benefits of having a life partner. The same thing is true at the molecular level, where amino acids known as cysteines are much more vulnerable to damage when single than when paired up with other cysteines. Beyond sunlight: Explorers census 17,650 ocean species between edge of darkness and black abyss Census of Marine Life scientists have inventoried an astonishing abundance, diversity and distribution of deep sea species that have never known sunlight - creatures that somehow manage a living in a frigid black world down to 5,000 meters (~3 miles) below the ocean waves. Surface bacteria maintain skin's healthy balance On the skin's surface, bacteria are abundant, diverse and constant, but inflammation is undesirable. Research at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine now shows that the normal bacteria living on the skin surface trigger a pathway that prevents excessive inflammation after injury. On the Trail of a Vaccine for Lyme Disease: Yale Researchers Target Tick Saliva A protein found in the saliva of ticks helps protect mice from developing Lyme disease, Yale researchers have discovered. The findings, published in the November 19 issue of Cell Host & Microbe, may spur development of a new vaccine against infection from Lyme disease, which is spread through tick bites. Cigarettes Harbor Many Bacteria Harmful to Human Health Cigarettes are "widely contaminated" with bacteria, including some known to cause disease in people, concludes a new international study conducted by a University of Maryland environmental health researcher and microbial ecologists at the Ecole Centrale de Lyon in France. More Bacteria Current Events and Bacteria News Articles |
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