Identification of Lactic Acid Bacteria in Kimchi using SDS-PAGE Profiles of Whole Cell Proteins

This study was conducted to evaluate the practical usefulness of the sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PACE) fingerprinting of whole cell proteins far the identification of lactic acid bacteria in Kimchi. SDS- PACE of whole cell proteins of the reference strains and lactic acid bacteria isolated from Kimchi yielded differential banding patterns that were highly specific fingerprints, thus making it possible to identify. Identification of the isolates from Kimchi was achieved by comparing the SDS-PAGE fingerprints of isolates to those of reference strains. In addition, the reliability of SDS-PAGE was examined by comparing the results with those of the APL 50 CHL system assay and 16S rRNA gene sequence. SDS-PACE assay showed a different identity to reference strains, while the APL 50 CHL system and 16S rRNA gene sequence could not distinguish a few strains. Therefore, SDS-PAGE of the whole cell proteins is a specific and a reliable method that will be useful for the identification of lactic acid bacteria in Kimchi to the species level, and can be used as an alternative or complementary identification method.