Abstract

Five spore-forming bacteria producer of lactic acid were isolated from soils sampled in the vicinity of poultry farms in Burkina Faso. All isolates were Gram-positive, motile, mesophilic, facultative anaerobic, catalase positive rods, and with L(+) lactic acid production. The isolates have been characterized and identified by a polyphasic approach, combining various phenotypic and genetic characteristics. The 16S-rDNA-sequence analyses revealed the membership of two isolates to the genus Bacillus and the three other to the genusPaenibacillus. The physiological and biochemical analyses showed that the isolates were quite different from known spore forming lactic acid bacteria. Several relevant technological properties were observed, particularly the resistance of the isolates to bile salts and acidic conditions, even the productions of amylolytic and proteolytic enzymes, which could make them good candidates for certain technological applications such as food fermentations and probiotic formulations. Furthermore, the isolation of these microorganisms in the vicinity of farms reinforces the feasibility of their involvement in animal feedstuffs preparations. In conclusion, this work shows an important diversity within the spore-forming lactic acid bacteria and confirms the conclusions of previous works, which have already shown that the SFLAB (Spore Forming Lactic Acid Bacteria) were good candidates for food fermentation and the probiotic formulations.

Key words: Lactic acid, spore-forming bacteria, biodiversity, bacillus, 16S rDNA.