Latilactobacillus sakei
Latilactobacillus sakei is the type species of the genus "Latilactobacillus" that was previously classified in the genus "Lactobacillus". It is homofermentative; hexoses are metabolized via Glycolysis to lactic acid as main metabolite; pentoses are fermented via the Phosphoketolase pathway to lactic and acetic acids. Uses. Antilisterial strains of "L. sakei" are used in Europe for the production of saucisson and can be used for the conservation of fresh meat. "L. sakei" strains isolated from traditional dry sausage have a potential use as starter cultures. Inhibition of "Listeria monocytogenes" in chicken cold cuts can be obtained by addition of  sakacin P and sakacin P-producing "Lactobacillus sakei". Strain "2a" of the subspecies "L. sakei subsp. sakei" can also be isolated from meat products. Research suggests that "L. sakei" may play a role in maintaining healthy sinus cavities and preventing sinusitis. Biochemistry. Bacteriocins production. Sakacins are bacteriocins of class II produced by "L. sakei". In strain "CCUG 42687", their production is dependent on nutrients, temperature and pH. Using the same strain, sakacin P can be produced in a completely defined medium. In strain "CTC 494", the presence of salt and a curing agent (sodium chloride and sodium nitrite) reduces the  production of the antilisterial bacteriocin sakacin K. Growth of CTC 494 is also dependent on nutrients availability. Lactocin S is a bacteriocin produced by strain "L45" of "Lactobacillus sakei". Exopolysaccharide biosynthesis. Strain "0–1" of "L. sakei" produces exopolysaccharides. Prevention. Eugenol is a chemical compound that can be used to reduce the presence of "L. sakei" as it disrupts its cellular membranes. Genetics. Genetic diversity within "L. sakei" has been assessed through the use of specifically designed PCR primers for detection using randomly amplified polymorphic DNA, or by multi-locus sequence typing. Bacteriocin genes. Bacteriocin genes are located either on chromosomes  or on plasmids. Strain "5" produces a plasmid-encoded bacteriocin that is identical to sakacin P, as well as two chromosomally encoded bacteriocins, which were designated sakacin T and sakacin X. LasX is a transcriptional regulator of the lactocin S biosynthetic genes in strain "L45" of "Lactobacillus sakei". Other genes. In strain "LTH677", a starter organism used in meat fermentation, there is an oxygen-dependent regulation of the expression of the catalase gene katA. In strain "LTH681", the stress operon dnaK has been characterized in 1999 as a heat shock protein gene. There is only one gene (IdhL) responsible for  the lactic fermentation. Plasmids. A Theta-type plasmid has been characterized in "Lactobacillus sakei" in 2003. It is a potential basis for Low-Copy-Number vectors in lactobacilli. Vectors for inducible gene expression in "L. sakei" can be constructed. The key elements of these vectors are a regulatable promoter involved in the production of the bacteriocins sakacin A and sakacin P and the genes encoding the cognate histidine protein kinase and response regulator that are necessary to activate this promoter upon induction by a peptide pheromone. Genome. The genome of the meat-borne lactic acid bacterium "Lactobacillus sakei 23K  has been published in 2005. It is composed of 1884661 nucleotides forming 1879 protein genes and 84 RNA genes.