Abstract
Research on lactic acid bacteria (LAB) has advanced significantly over the past number of decades and these developments have been driven by the parallel advances in technologies such as genomics, bioinformatics, protein expression systems and structural biology, combined with the ever increasing commercial relevance of this group of microorganisms. Some of the more significant and impressive outputs have been in the domain of bacteriophage-host interactions which provides a prime example of the cutting-edge model systems represented by LAB research. Here, we present a retrospective overview of the key advances in LAB phage research including phage-host interactions and co-evolution. We describe how in many instances this knowledge can be pivotal in creating real improvements in the application of LAB cultures in commercial practice.
Highlights
Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are a group of Gram-positive, non-sporulating bacteria encompassing several genera including among others, Lactococcus, Streptococcus, Lactobacillus, Weissella, Leuconostoc, Enterococcus and Pediococcus
Some of the more significant and impressive outputs have been in the domain of bacteriophage-host interactions which provides a prime example of the cutting-edge model systems represented by lactic acid bacteria (LAB) research
We describe how in many instances this knowledge can be pivotal in creating real improvements in the application of LAB cultures in commercial practice
Summary
Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are a group of Gram-positive, non-sporulating bacteria encompassing several genera including among others, Lactococcus, Streptococcus, Lactobacillus, Weissella, Leuconostoc, Enterococcus and Pediococcus. Over the past 30 years, the implementation of emerging ‘omics’ technologies such as genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics and when these are integrated, systems biology, to LAB research has resulted in the development of molecular tools that have been applied or formed the basis of development of such tools in other Gram-positive bacteria in the areas of protein expression systems, anti-microbial compound production and characterisation, glycobiology, cell envelope structure and (bacterio)phage-host interactions [5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14].
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
