African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 3 (3), pp. 189-194, March 2004

ISSN 1684–5315 © 2004 Academic Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Identification of exopolysaccharides-producing lactic acid bacteria from Burkina Faso fermented milk samples

Aly Savadogo¹*, Cheik A. T. Ouattara¹, Paul W. Savadogo², Nicolas Barro¹, Aboubacar S. Ouattara¹, Alfred S. Traoré¹

1Laboratoire de Microbiologie et de Biotechnologie . Centre de Recherche en Sciences Biologiques Alimentaires et Nutritionnelles(CRSBAN) UFR/SVT Université de Ouagadougou Burkina Faso 03 BP 7131.

²Institut de l’Environnement et de la Recherche Agricole (INERA) 01BP476 Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

*Corresponding author. E-mail: aly.savadogo@univ-ouaga.bf. Tel/Fax: (226) 33 73 73.

Accepted 31 December 2003

Spacer region between 16S and 23 S rRNA genes of thirteen lactic acid bacteria strains from Burkina Faso fermented milk samples were amplified by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Lactobacillus delbrueckii, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus fermentum, Streptococcus thermophilus, Pediococcus spp, Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp mesenteroides were identified. The Lactobacillus group was the predominant bacteria. Plasmids identified ranged between 2000 and 4000 bp. Exopolysaccharides (EPS) production varied from 181 mg/l and 814 mg/l, monomer analysis showed that glucose and galactose were predominant.

Key words: Lactic acid bacteria, fermented milk, PCR, exopolysaccharides.