Isolation and Identification of Lactic Acid Bacteria Inhabited in Kaburazushi

Abstract

　Kaburazushi is a traditional food produced by fermentation of turnip and yellowtail with malted rice at the low temperature in Kanazawa city and Toyama prefecture. The aims of this study are isolate lactic acid bacteria from Kaburazushi and to identify them based on their phenotypic characteristics and 16S rRNA gene sequences. Thirty nine lactic acid bacteria strains were isolated from Kaburazushi. Lactobacillus sakei, Leuconostoc gasicomitatum and Leuconostoc mesenteroides were the predominant lactic acid bacteria in Kaburazushi. Characteristically, all isolates were viable at low temperature. These results suggest that the isolates are suitable as inhabitants in Kaburazushi.