Lactobacillus kimchii

All unapproved Citizendium articles may contain errors of fact, bias, grammar etc. A version of an article is unapproved unless it is marked as citable with a dedicated green template at the top of the page, as in this version of the 'Biology' article. Citable articles are intended to be of reasonably high quality. The participants in the Citizendium project make no representations about the reliability of Citizendium articles or, generally, their suitability for any purpose. This article is currently being developed as part of an Eduzendium student project in the framework of a course entitled Microbiology 201 at Queens College, CUNY. The course homepage can be found at CZ:Biol 201: General Microbiology. For the course duration, the article is closed to outside editing. Of course you can always leave comments on the discussion page. The anticipated date of course completion is May 21, 2009. One month after that date at the latest, this notice shall be removed. Besides, many other Citizendium articles welcome your collaboration!

Lactobacillus kimchii
Scientific classification
Class: Bacilli Order: Lactobacillales Family: Lactobacillaceae Genus: Lactobacillus Species: L. kimchii
Binomial name
Lactobacillus kimchii

Description and significance

Lactobacillus kimchii is newly discovered Gram positive bacterium. It is a bacteria that produces lactic acid and is found in the Korean vegetable kimchi, where it gets its name. L. kimchii comes from the genus Lactobacillus, which is commonly seen in the fermentation of food.

Cell structure and metabolism

 L. kimchii is a Gram positive bacterium.  The cells from L. kimchii is short, thin, and rod-shaped.  L. kimchii's strain is made up of MT-1077 = ATCC BAA-131 = CCUG 45370 = CIP 107019 = DSM 13961 = JCM 10707 = KCTC 8903P.  This was found through 16S rDNA sequences.   

Ecology

 L. kimchii can be found in the during the fermentation of the Korean cabbage, known as baechu.

Pathology

 L. kimchii can only be found in the Korean food, kimchii.  Kimchii is fermented based on the salt concentration and the temperature.  Other batericas that are found in kimchi are Lactobacillus plantarum, L. Brevis, Streptococcus faecalis, Leuconostoc mesenteroides, and Pediococcus pentosaceus.  Most coming from the genus Lactobacillus.