AUTHOR=Chettri Rajen , Bhutia Meera O. , Tamang Jyoti P. 

TITLE=Poly-γ-Glutamic Acid (PGA)-Producing Bacillus Species Isolated from Kinema, Indian Fermented Soybean Food

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=7

YEAR=2016

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2016.00971

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2016.00971

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p><italic>Kinema</italic>, an ethnic fermented, non-salted and sticky soybean food is consumed in the eastern part of India. The stickiness is one of the best qualities of good <italic>kinema</italic> preferred by consumers, which is due to the production of poly-γ-glutamic acid (PGA). Average load of <italic>Bacillus</italic> in <italic>kinema</italic> was 10<sup>7</sup> cfu/g and of lactic acid bacteria was 10<sup>3</sup> cfu/g. <italic>Bacillus</italic> spp. were screened for PGA-production and isolates of lactic acid bacteria were also tested for degradation of PGA. Only <italic>Bacillus</italic> produced PGA, none of lactic acid bacteria produced PGA. PGA-producing <italic>Bacillus</italic> spp. were identified by phenotypic characterization and also by 16S rRNA gene sequencing as <italic>Bacillus subtilis, B. licheniformis</italic> and <italic>B. sonorensis.</italic></p>