Screening of lactic acid bacteria isolated from Serbian kajmak for use in starter cultures

One hundred and seventy eight isolates of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) were isolated by pour plate and enrichment techniques from a sample of milk used for kajmak production and three samples of kajmak from one month ripening period. The identification of isolates was performed by phenotypic characterization followed by molecular identification using (GTG) 5 -PCR and sequence analysis of 16S rRNA gene. Isolates belonged to Lactococcus lactis and Enterococcus faecium were found in milk and kajmak samples while Leuconostoc mesenteroides and Enterococcus durans were the most frequently isolated species from kajmak samples. Streptococcus thermophilus were isolated from milk sample only with enrichment technique. Further characterization of LAB isolates was done for technological properties which are important for industrial application of LAB. Strains of Lc. lactis and S. thermophilus that showed very good acidification and proteolityc activities and L. mesenteroides strains that metabolized citrate can be used in development of starter cultures for eventual industrial production of kajmak. Additionally, producers of antimicrobial compounds belonged to Lc. lactis subsp. lactis biovar. diacetylactis can be used for control of undesirable microflora in kajmak production. Key words : Kajmak, Lactic acid bacteria, Technological characterization