Author(s)

Enuo Liu, Pei Hao, Tomonobu Konno, Yao Yu, Munehiro Oda, Huajun Zheng, Zai-Si Ji

Chinese National Human Genome Center at Shanghai, Shanghai, China.
Division of Research and Development, Meiji Co., Ltd, Odawara, Kanagawa, Japan.
Graduate School of Bioresource Sciences, Nihon University, Fujisawa, Kanagawa, Japan.
Shanghai Institutes for Biological Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.
WHO Collaborating Centre for Research in Human Reproduction, Shanghai, China.

The amino acid biosynthesis and proteolytic system of Lactobacillus bulgaricus (L.Bulgaricus ) is important for its growth in niche-specific environments, as well as for flavour formation in the food industry. Comparative analyses of 4 completed sequences of the L.Bulgaricus strain genome on a genomic scale revealed that genes involved in amino acids synthesis were undergoing reductive evolution. However, the selected industrial strains, namely, L.Bulgaricus 2038 and L.Bulgaricus ND02, retained more complete genes in the amino acid synthesis and proteolytic system category than the laboratory strains, and have some unique genes and pathways for obtaining amino acids that enable these bacteria to adapt to their various environmental niches.

Amino Acid; Biosynthesis; Proteolysis; L.Bulgaricus

Liu, E. , Hao, P. , Konno, T. , Yu, Y. , Oda, M. , Zheng, H. and Ji, Z. (2012) Amino Acid Biosynthesis and Proteolysis in Lactobacillus Bulgaricus Revisited: A Genomic Comparison. Computational Molecular Bioscience, 2, 61-77. doi: 10.4236/cmb.2012.23006.