Role of Bacterial ‘Omics’ in Food Fermentation

For most lactic acid bacteria (LAB) commonly used in the manufacturing of fermented foods of plant or animal origin, at least one whole genome sequence is now publicly available. This huge amount of new information greatly helps in understanding the complex mechanisms that were used empirically by humans to produce and preserve a large part of their food for millenaries, and that started to be scientifically investigated only a few decades ago. Genomics provides new tools to monitor, control, modify or improve such products. The post-genomic era allows, for the first time, a molecular dissection of the fermentation process in its entirety. Together, genomics and post-genomics approaches considerably accelerate time scale by bringing a deluge of data and representing a new challenge for food micro- biologists, raising the possibility of having valuable information that can be in the food application.