About

The Lactobacillaceae are a family of lactic acid bacteria. It is the only family in the Lactic acid bacteria which includes homofermentative and heterofermentative organisms; in the Lactobacillaceae, the pathway used for hexose fermentation is a genus-specific trait. The prokaryotic taxonomical classification at species level is constantly on rise. The improved access to molecular approaches to delineate bacterial species within specific groups leads to the ever increasing complexity of taxonomical assessment and nomenclatural reassignments. The genus Lactobacillus is listed as the fifth most important category of living organism to have influenced the planet throughout its evolutionary history. From their central role in food fermentations around the globe to their ability to benefit health in their human and animal hosts, species of Lactobacillus and Pediococcus have great importance in our lives. But for the past several decades there’s been a problem brewing with this genus. Using the research tools available at the time, researchers through history who discovered new bacteria grouped many diverse species under the “umbrella” of the genus Lactobacillus. Since the naming of the first Lactobacillus species, Lactobacillus delbrueckii, in 1901, microbial taxonomists assigned over 250 species to this genus. These species were a diverse group, and when DNA analysis tools became more sophisticated, many were found to be only loosely related. A consensus grew among scientific experts that, given the genetic makeup of these bacteria, the current Lactobacillus genus was too diverse and did not conform to nomenclature conventions. Moreover, it was important to split the genus into functionally relevant groups that shared certain physiological, metabolic properties and lifestyles in order to facilitate functional and ecological studies on bacteria from this genus. Based on this polyphasic approach, the genus Lactobacillus is reclassified into 26 genera including the emended genus Lactobacillus, which includes host-adapted organisms that have been referred to as the L. delbrueckii group; Paralactobacillus; as well as 23 novel genera: Acetilactobacillus, Agrilactobacillus, Amylolactobacillus, Apilactobacillus, Bombilactobacillus, Companilactobacillus, Dellaglioa, Fructilactobacillus, Furfurilactobacillus, Holzapfelia, Lacticaseibacillus, Lactiplantibacillus, Lapidilactobacillus, Latilactobacillus, Lentilactobacillus, Levilactobacillus, Ligilactobacillus, Limosilactobacillus, Liquorilactobacillus, Loigolactobacilus, Paucilactobacillus, Schleiferilactobacillus and Secundilactobacillus. The genus Pediococcus is a promising species belonging to the family Lactobacillaceae which is gradually gaining attention, leading to a rapid increase in experimental research. Due to the increased demand for practical applications of microbes, the functional and probiotic properties make it worthwhile LAB strain for both the food industry and biological applications. To this end, we have developed a database exclusively for Lactobacillaceae family for its significance in probiotic product formulation and food industry. The Lactobacillaceae explorer (https://lbexplorer.cftri.com/) is a database that lists the type strains of the genus Lactobacillus and Pediococcus. The database consists of validly published names in the International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology directly or by inclusion in a Validation List, under the Rules of International Code of Nomenclature of Bacteria. Currently there are 28 genera enlisted including physiological and biochemical characteristics linked with Taxonomy ID and genomic information. The information contained in the database was mined from published literature and databases such as NCBI Taxonomy, LPSN, and Bacdive. The database integrates user friendly browsing and serves as an index of lactobacillus domain for researchers working on its characterization and various applications.

References:

1. Devi MD, Aiswarya S and Halami PM* (2016). Discrimination and divergence among Lactobacillus plantarum- group (LPG) isolates with reference to their probiotic functionalities from vegetable origin, Syst Appl Microbiol. 39: 562–570.
2. Devi SM and Halami PM* (2017). Diversity and evolutionary aspects of mucin binding (MucBP) domain repeats among Lactobacillus plantarum– group strains through comparative genetic analysis. Systematic Applied Microbiol. 40: 237–244.
3. Devi SM and Halami PM* (2017). Genetic variation of plantaricin bacteriocin among probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum group strains with anti-oxidant and cholesterol lowering ability. Probio and Antimicrobial Prot.1-12.
4. Goel, A., Halami, P. M. and Tamang, J. P., (2020). Genome Analysis of Lactobacillus plantarum isolated from Some Indian Fermented Foods for Bacteriocin Production and Probiotic Marker Genes. Frontiers in Microbiology, 11, 40.
5. Archer AC and Halami PM* (2015). Probiotic attributes of Lactobacillus fermentum isolated from dairy products and human faeces. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol. 99(19):8113-23.
6. Zheng et al. (2020). A taxonomic note on the genus Lactobacillus: Description of 23 novel genera, emended description of the genus Lactobacillus Beijerinck 1901, and union of Lactobacillaceae and Leuconostocaceae. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol. 70(4):2782-2858