FTIR spectroscopy and taxonomic purpose: Contribution to the classification of lactic acid bacteria

Abstract

The capacity of FTIR spectroscopy for identification and classification of lactic acid bacteria has been proved on brewery strains and more recently by ourselves on dairy strains. During our study, we underlined that IR spectra give very informative data which can be used for old or more recent taxonomical purposes. We tried to illustrate this aspect with two examples: the distinction between Streptococcus thermophilus and Streptococcus salivarius, the taxonomic range of Lactobacillus casei, paracasei, zeae and rhamnosus. The interest of this tool for taxonomic studies will be discussed.