ALBERT

Description:    A rifampicin-resistant variant of two strains of Lactobacillus plantarum , one strain of Pediococcus acidilactici , and one strain of Enterococcus faecium were used for the experimental production of lucerne silage. Laboratory silage without inoculants served as a control. Counts of total anaerobes, total lactic acid bacteria (LAB), lactobacilli, pediococci, and enterococci were determined on days 14, 21, 30, 49, and 60 of lucerne fermentation. LAB dominated in silage microflora, reaching a percentage between 59 and 95 % of total anaerobes. Lactobacilli were found as a predominant group of LAB during the whole study. Lactobacilli reached numbers 8.74 log CFU/g in treated silage and 8.89 log CFU/g in the control at the first observation. Their counts decreased to 4.23 and 4.92 log CFU/g in treated silage and the control, respectively, on day 63 of fermentation. Similar decreases were observed in all bacterial groups. The treated silage samples possessed lower pH (4.2 vs. 4.5 in control samples) and contained more lactic acid compared to control silage. The identity of re-isolated rifampicin-resistant bacteria with those inoculated to the lucerne was evaluated by fingerprinting techniques. The fingerprint profiles of re-isolated bacteria corresponded to the profiles of strains used for the treatment. It could be concluded that supplemented LAB dominated in laboratory silage and overgrew naturally occurring LAB. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-4 DOI 10.1007/s12223-012-0142-5 Authors Eva Vlková, Department of Microbiology, Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, Prague 6, 165 21 Czech Republic Vojtěch Rada, Department of Microbiology, Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, Prague 6, 165 21 Czech Republic Věra Bunešová, Department of Microbiology, Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, Prague 6, 165 21 Czech Republic Šárka Ročková, Department of Microbiology, Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, Prague 6, 165 21 Czech Republic Journal Folia Microbiologica Online ISSN 1874-9356 Print ISSN 0015-5632