Pressure-resistant acclimation of lactic acid bacteria from a natural fermentation product using high pressure

Twenty colonies of Pediococcus acidilactici, Lactobacillus brevis, Lactiplantibacillus plantarum and Latilactobacillus curvatus were isolated from fermentation broth of pickled pepper by using MRS agar. The strains were acclimated using high pressure from 300 to 400 MPa for 1 to 5 min. For one generation of acclimation, the survived cells after first high pressure treatment were then activated by culturing on MRS agar for two days for the next high pressure treatment. After acclimation for 30 generations, the survival ratio of L. plantarum and L. curvatus was increased by 138 and 1222 times at 400 MPa for 1 and 3 min, respectively. Weibull model could appropriately fit the survival curves of L. plantarum and L. curvatus treated by high pressure. The time to the first decimal reduction of these two strains after acclimation was 3.5 and 1.8 times, respectively, longer than before acclimation at 300 MPa. From electron microscopy photographs, the acclimated L. curvatus was more curved, smaller and its cell wall was thicker than the unacclimated L. curvatus. After HPP treatment, L. plantarum and L. curvatus have higher cell integrity, smoother cell surface, more uniform protoplasm and smaller cavities in the cell protoplasm compared with unacclimated strains, suggesting that high pressure acclimation introduced some modification to bacteria intrinsic structures and increased their pressure resistance. Moreover, the fermentation performance including glucose utilization capacity and lactic acid production of the acclimated L. curvatus was respectively improved by 9.6% and 9.4% at 37 °C for 24 h in MRS medium.