Query: NC_014334:267409 Lactobacillus casei str. Zhang chromosome, complete genome Lineage: Lactobacillus casei; Lactobacillus; Lactobacillaceae; Lactobacillales; Firmicutes; Bacteria General Information: Lactobacillus casei str. Zhang was isolated from traditional home-made koumiss (fermented mare's milk) in Inner Mongolia, China. This strain has the potential probiotic properties such as high resistance to acidic pH and bile salt. They are commonly found in the oral, vaginal, and intestinal regions of many animals. They are important industrial microbes that contribute to the production of cheese, yogurt, fermented milks, and other products, all stemming from the production of lactic acid, which inhibits the growth of other organisms as well as lowering the pH of the food product. Industrial production requires the use of starter cultures, which are carefully created, cultivated, and maintained, which produce specific end products during fermentation that impart flavor to the final product, as well as contributing important metabolic reactions, such as the breakdown of milk proteins during cheese production. The end product of fermentation, lactic acid, is also being used as a starter molecule for complex organic molecule syntheses. Lactobacillus casei is used as a starter culture during milk fermentation and for the flavor development of certain bacterial-ripened cheeses.
- Sequence; - BLASTN hit (Low score = Light, High score = Dark) - hypothetical protein; - cds: hover for description
General Information: This organism is associated with severe and chronic periodontal (tissues surrounding and supporting the tooth) diseases. Progression of the disease is caused by colonization by this organism in an anaerobic environment in host tissues and severe progression results in loss of the tissues supporting the tooth and eventually loss of the tooth itself. The black pigmentation characteristic of this bacterium comes from iron acquisition that does not use the typical siderophore system of other bacteria but accumulates hemin. Peptides appear to be the predominant carbon and energy source of this organism, perhaps in keeping with its ability to destroy host tissue. Oxygen tolerance systems play a part in establishment of the organism in the oral cavity, including a superoxide dismutase. Pathogenic factors include extracellular adhesins that mediate interactions with other bacteria as well as the extracellular matrix, and a host of degradative enzymes that are responsible for tissue degradation and spread of the organism including the gingipains, which are trypsin-like cysteine proteases.