Maltose-Enhanced Exopolysaccharide Synthesis of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum through CRP-like Protein

Abstract

Carbon sources alter the synthesis of exopolysaccharides (EPS) in Lactiplantibacillus plantarum. Maltose increased the EPS production of L. plantarum 163 6.5-fold. Subsequently, EPS production, transcriptome, and proteome were analyzed using glucose or maltose to further clarify the regulatory mechanism. A cAMP receptor protein (UniProtKB: F9UNI5) has been identified to control EPS synthesis in the presence of cAMP by binding to the EPS synthesis promoter Pcps4A-J. Overexpression of the cAMP synthesis gene cyaA increased cAMP content and EPS production 4.5- and 2.2-fold, respectively. Furthermore, yogurt produced with L. plantarum 163-cyaA had a similar viscosity to that of commercial Greek yogurt; it had 20 and 83.7% greater viscosity than that produced with L. plantarum 163 with maltose and glucose, respectively. These findings indicated that L. plantarum 163-cyaA has potential applications in the production of functional fermented dairy products.