Characterization of lactic acid bacteria distributed in small fish fermented with boiled rice in Myanmar

This study is a detailed description of the microflora of a traditional fishery product in Myanmar which is fermented with boiled rice. We approached this analysis from two viewpoints; namely, the culture-dependent and culture-independent methods. In Southeast Asia, there are various types of traditional fermented fishery products. In this study, we isolated and characterized lactic acid bacteria (LAB) from small freshwater fish (tinfoil barb) fermented with boiled rice, a typical Myanmar fermented product, to contribute to the understanding of its fermentation process. Eight fermented fishery products were purchased from different markets in Yangon. Forty-three of the 46 isolates were identified as LAB, and they were classified into two groups: 40 homofermentative and three heterofermentative isolates, on the basis of their phenotypic characteristics. From the results of PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis and 16S rRNA gene sequencing, our isolates were identified as Lactobacillus plantarum -group, Lactobacillus farciminis , Lactobacillus futsaii , Lactobacillus reuteri, Weissella paramesenteroides, and Pediococcus pentosaceus. In addition, L. plantarum and L. farciminis were identified as γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-producing LAB. Terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) analysis was also carried out using DNA samples extracted from these fermented products. In comparison with culture-dependent methods, the results of T-RFLP analysis did not seem to have major contradictions.