Characterization of Weissella confusa DD_A7 isolated from kimchi

Abstract

Foodborne pathogenic bacteria like, Escherichia coli 0157:H7, Bacillus cereus and Salmonella typhimurium are the biggest threat to food industries. Their growth in the environment and transmission of deadly diseases has become a challenge. The present study confirmed the genetic identity of DD_A7 is similar to the reported probiotic strains of Weissella confusa by analyzing the polymorphism in the conserved region of 16S-rRNA sequence. The Kimchi isolated, non-pathogenic W. confusa DD_A7 strain has shown the potential to control the growth of foodborne pathogens. Furthermore, the cell-free culture supernatant of DD_A7 shows the potential to rapture the membrane integrity of E. coli 0157:H7 by influencing the Ca++ ion channels. The safety concern associated with the usage of DD_A7 strain was also determined by testing its antibiotic susceptibility against different antibiotics and confirmed its non-toxic behavior on mammalian cells. Nevertheless, the strain has also encompassed several applications such as isolation of amylolytic and proteolytic enzymes. Collectively, the study will help to control the growth of foodborne pathogenic bacteria using the studied probiotic strain. In addition, the study will also help to construct a species-specific probe in future for the identification of the non-pathogenic strain of W. confusa for its application in food industries.