<i>Pediococcus</i>

Abstract Pe.di.o.coc'cus. Gr. neut. n. pedion , a plane surface; N.L. masc. n. coccus , coccus; from Gr. masc. n. kokkos , grain, seed; N.L. masc. n. Pediococcus , coccus growing in one plane Bacillota / “Bacilli” / Lactobacillales / Lactobacillaceae / Pediococcus Bacteria of the genus Pediococcus are Gram‐stain‐positive, nonspore‐forming, facultatively anaerobic, nonmotile, and catalase‐negative cocci that are occasionally ovoid, and either divide and form pairs or divide alternately in two perpendicular directions to form tetrads. Chain formation does not occur. Pediococci have a chemoorganotrophic metabolism and ferment glucose homofermentatively producing lactic acid but no CO 2 . All Pediococcus species produce a mixture of dl ‐lactate from sugar metabolism, except for P. claussenii which produces only the l(+) ‐lactic acid enantiomer. The pediococci are capable of fermenting a range of sugars with different fermentative capacity among the species. Pediococci are widespread in nature and occur in fermented foods including fermented meat, milk and plant products, as well as fermented beverages. Many pediococci produce bacteriocins, of which pediocin PA‐1 is probably the most well‐known. Bacteriocin‐producing strains are used in biotechnological applications for improving food safety. Pediococci also occur in human and animal hosts, particularly in the digestive tract and in human feces. Pediococci generally have small genomes with an average size of 2.02 Mb, encoding an average of 1,907 protein‐coding genes. The genetic diversity observed from genome sequencing is often related to carbohydrate utilizing genes as well as mobile genetic elements, which may encode bacteriocin or bacteriophage genes. As is typical for other lactic acid bacteria, the pediococci have a low mol% GC content of an average of 39% in the DNA. Type species : Pediococcus damnosus Claussen 1903 AL . DNA G + C content (mol%) : 38 (based on genome sequence).