ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Food Microbiology
Feruloyl esterase-producing lactobacillus screening and its synergistic effect with homolactic and heterolactic bacteria on corn stover silage
Lin Wang 1
Zilu Cai 2
Fusheng Li 2
Zhuang Ke 1
Ran Tao 3
Bin Ye 4
Cansheng Yuan 1
Qin He 2
1. Jiangsu Open University, Nanjing, China
2. Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
3. Chinese Academy of Forestry Institute of Chemical Industry of Forestry Products, Nanjing, China
4. Linyi University, Linyi, China
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Abstract
This study investigated the synergistic effects of combining ferulic acid esterase (FAE)- producing lactobacillus with homofermentative and heterofermentative lactic acid bacteria (LAB) on the fermentation quality, nutrient composition, and aerobic stability of corn stover silage. In this study, five LAB strains were isolated and identified from various silages. Among them, strain AR1 was identified as Lactiplantibacillus pentosus and exhibited high FAE activity. The homofermentative strains R10, JF1, and JF2 were identified as Lactiplantibacillus plantarum, Pediococcus acidilactici, and Pediococcus pentosaceus, respectively. The heterofermentative strain R3 was Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. mesenteroides. The results showed that the co-fermentation of homofermentative and heterofermentative strains improved silage fermentation quality. The addition of AR1 to the combination of homofermentative and heterofermentative LAB further enhanced lactic acid and acetic acid production, decreased neutral and acid detergent fiber contents, and improved aerobic stability. Principal component analysis and membership function analysis identified the LPLR group (an equal mixture of AR1, R10, JF2, and R3 at 1×10⁷ CFU/g fresh weight) as the optimal formula, achieving the highest comprehensive score of 0.696. This study provides a theoretical basis for the development of silage additives.
Summary
Keywords
Corn Stover Silage, Ferulic acid esterase-producing lactobacillus, Heterofermentation, Homofermentation, Lactic acid bacteria, Silage additives
Received
01 December 2025
Accepted
17 February 2026
Copyright
© 2026 Wang, Cai, Li, Ke, Tao, Ye, Yuan and He. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Cansheng Yuan; Qin He
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