Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are a heterogenous group of bacteria that play an important role in a variety of fermentation processes and food preservations. Since ancient times, LAB have been empirically exploited as starter cultures for a variety of fermented foods and products, mainly for lactic acid production and use as probiotics due to their health-promoting effects and safe metabolic activity. To date, there are several challenges facing the economical production of lactic acid by various microbial strains. Besides that, little is known about the other LAB strains and their novel applications for production of high value-added products including: bioactive peptides, antibacterial compounds, vitamins, aroma compounds, low-calorie sugars, biopolymers, exopolysaccharides, amongst others.
This Research Topic will highlight novel strategies to overcome the obstacles for the enhanced lactic acid production by LAB. Studies related to the improvement of lactic acid production and reduction of overall production cost will be introduced. Novel lactic acid bacterial strains with special stress tolerance properties (either wild types or metabolically engineered strains) will be welcomed. Furthermore, this issue will highlight the utilization of LAB as microbial cell factories to produce industrially interesting metabolites, either to be used as purified compounds or to be produced in situ or applied in mixed culture for specific biotechnological applications.
This Research Topic welcomes submissions of original research on the following themes, provided they are within the scope of the Microbiotechnology section:
• Biorefinery to lactic acid by LAB
• Optically pure lactic acid
• Biopolymer production from LAB
• Metabolic engineering for improved lactate
• Stress tolerance LAB
• Green chemicals from LAB
• Exopolysaccharides from LAB
• Bioactive peptides from LAB
• Antibacterial compounds, vitamins, aroma compounds, and low-calorie sugars from LAB
• Novel applications of LAB
Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are a heterogenous group of bacteria that play an important role in a variety of fermentation processes and food preservations. Since ancient times, LAB have been empirically exploited as starter cultures for a variety of fermented foods and products, mainly for lactic acid production and use as probiotics due to their health-promoting effects and safe metabolic activity. To date, there are several challenges facing the economical production of lactic acid by various microbial strains. Besides that, little is known about the other LAB strains and their novel applications for production of high value-added products including: bioactive peptides, antibacterial compounds, vitamins, aroma compounds, low-calorie sugars, biopolymers, exopolysaccharides, amongst others.
This Research Topic will highlight novel strategies to overcome the obstacles for the enhanced lactic acid production by LAB. Studies related to the improvement of lactic acid production and reduction of overall production cost will be introduced. Novel lactic acid bacterial strains with special stress tolerance properties (either wild types or metabolically engineered strains) will be welcomed. Furthermore, this issue will highlight the utilization of LAB as microbial cell factories to produce industrially interesting metabolites, either to be used as purified compounds or to be produced in situ or applied in mixed culture for specific biotechnological applications.
This Research Topic welcomes submissions of original research on the following themes, provided they are within the scope of the Microbiotechnology section:
• Biorefinery to lactic acid by LAB
• Optically pure lactic acid
• Biopolymer production from LAB
• Metabolic engineering for improved lactate
• Stress tolerance LAB
• Green chemicals from LAB
• Exopolysaccharides from LAB
• Bioactive peptides from LAB
• Antibacterial compounds, vitamins, aroma compounds, and low-calorie sugars from LAB
• Novel applications of LAB
