Ultrasound Treatment for Harvesting an Aminopeptidase from Lactic Acid Bacteria and Quantitation of the Enzyme by Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assays

Development of an immunological method for studying the incorporation of ripening enzymes in cheese curd

Polyclonal antibodies raised against partly purified aminopeptidase were specific to cell-free extracts ofLactobacillus caseisubsp.pseudoplantarumUL 137, and did not cross react with any other proteins in Cheddar cheese, at least during the first week of maturation. A sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed in order to quantify cell-free extracts in the cheese curd, and was also used to determine the efficiency of encapsulation of cell-free extracts in liposomes. This method was very sensitive and exhibited a detection limit of ∼10 μg total protein/g cheese and ∼1 μg total protein/ml liposome suspension. The efficiency of encapsulation of cell-free extracts into liposomes was ∼55–60%. The retention of liposome-encapsulated cell-free extracts was ∼14 times that of non-encapsulated extracts.

The physiology and biochemistry of the proteolytic system in lactic acid bacteria

The inability of lactic acid bacteria to synthesize many of the amino acids required for protein synthesis necessitates the active functioning of a proteolytic system in those environments where protein constitutes the main nitrogen source. Biochemical and genetic analysis of the pathway by which exogenous proteins supply essential amino acids for growth has been one of the most actively investigated aspects of the metabolism of lactic acid bacteria especially in those species which are of importance in the dairy industry, such as the lactococci. Much information has now been accumulated on individual components of the proteolytic pathway in lactococci, namely, the cell envelope proteinase(s), a range of peptidases and the amino acid and peptide transport systems of the cell membrane. Possible models of the proteolytic system in lactococci can be proposed but there are still many unresolved questions concerning the operation of the pathway in vivo. This review will examine current knowledge and outstanding problems regarding the proteolytic system in lactococci and also the extent to which the lactococcal system provides a model for understanding proteolysis in other groups of lactic acid bacteria.