## 3 Results and Discussion
### Molecular Identification of Lactic Acid Bacteria  
Results from RAPD-PCR and sequence analysis of a representative number of isolates reveal seven different LAB species belonging to five different bacterial genera--_Lacticaseibacillus (Lcb. )_, _Lacitplantiobacillus (Lpb. )_, _Leuconostoc (Lc. )_, _Oenococcus (O. )_, and _Pedicococcus (P.)_. Their relative abundance, in each sampled drum and at each fermentation stage, is depicted in Figure 5A. Figure 5: (**A**) Relative abundance (%) of the LAB species identified in _Cobrancosa_ table olive drums at each fermentation stage. [PERSON]’s index of diversity (H\({}^{\prime}\)), based on the RAPD-OPL5 profiles, is reported for each drum at each fermentation stage; (**B**) heatmap depicting the relative percentage of each RAPD-OPL5 profile within each _Cobrancosa_ table olive drum (A, C, and G) at sweetening (_S) and bringing (_B_) stages. Hierarchical clustering was performed using Euclidean distance and average linkage clustering. The species _Lpb. pentosus_, _Lpb. paraplantarum_, _Lc. pseudomesenteroides_, _O. kitaharae_, and _P. parvulus_ were the most frequently found, in contrast to _Lpb. plantarum_ and _Lcb. paravasci_. These findings partially agree with [PERSON], [PERSON], and [PERSON] [7], who reported that the most cited species worldwide during fermentation of (green or black) table olives are _Lpb. pentosus_ and _Lpb. plantarum_, although pertaining to different processing styles (natural versus treated), as well as _Lpb. paraplantarum_ and _Lc. mesenteroides_ to a lesser extent. _Lpb. pentosus_ and _O. kitaharae_ were frequently found in both stages, whereas _Lpb. paraplantarum_ and _Lc. pseudomesenteroides_ appeared to be better adapted to the sweetening stage. The highest LAB diversity was found for producer A--with all identified species detected, except _Lpb. Plantarum_, followed by producer G, for whom only the species _Lpb. plantarum_ and _Lc. pseudomesenteroides_ could not be found (Figure 5A). When cluster analysis was applied (Figure 5B), producers A and G indeed gathered as a cluster, clearly separated from producer C. Producer A was characterized by the occurrence of _Lpb. pentosus_, regardless of fermentation stage. This species displayed the greatest genotypic variability, with 14 distinct fingerprints--again all found in producer A; they justified the highest diversity of LAB recorded during the whole process. Only 2 genotypes (lpe301, lpe612) out of 14 were recovered from more than one producer along fermentation. Olives from producer G constituted a separate cluster on the basis of abundance of _P. parvulus_ and _O. kitaharae_. These species were recovered at higher frequency in producer G and accounted for 86% and 62% in sweetening and brining stages, respectively. No genetic diversity was found among isolates belonging to species _O. kitaharae_ and _P. parvulus_. Producer C showed the highest level of dissimilarity among samples at the sweetening stage because of the high incidence of _Lc. pseudomesenteroides_--with two distinct RAPD profiles (lps01 and lps03). However, he clustered close to producers A and G at the brining stage, thus underlining the presence of genetic profiles that colonize those ecosystems (_P. parvulus_ and _Lcb. paravasci_). In fact, _Lpb. paraplantarum_--the single species found in the brine stage of producer C--was also present in the sweetening and salting stages of producers A (28% and 9%, respectively) and G (14% and 21%, respectively). Of the four different fingerprints found throughout fermentation, two (lpa01 and lpa03) were recovered from more than one producer (A, C, and G), and the others were found in producer G, during either the sweetening stage (lpa05) or both stages (lpa06). Such LAB species as _Lpb. plantarum_ (1 fingerprint) and _Lcb. paravasci_ (1 fingerprint) accounted for ca. 2% (from producer C, sweetening stage) and 1% (from producers A and G, salting stage) of the isolates.