The genus Lactococcus

Abstract

Lactococcus are homofermentative and are used for the production of L(+) lactic acid from glucose. Currently, seven Lactococcus species are recognized; Lc. chungangensis, Lc. fujiensis Lc. garvieae, Lc. lactis, Lc. piscium, Lc. plantarum, and Lc. raffinolactis, The type species, Lc. lactis, is the only species used in dairy technology and is further divided into four subspecies; Lc. lactis subsp. cremoris, Lc. lactis subsp. hordniae, Lc. lactis subsp. lactis, and Lc. lactis subsp. tructae. Lactococcus are widely distributed in dairy products, plants, insect, fish, and animals. Most Lactococcus species are regarded as safe, but Lc. garvieae and Lc. are pathogenic to humans, fishes, and animals. In dairy industry, Lactococcus species are used majorly in the production of lactic acid from lactose, hydrolysis of casein, fat lipolysis by weak esterase activities, and citric acid fermentation. Recently Lc. lactis has been used in a variety of biomedical applications. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.