Project properties
Title Functionality of microbial ecosystems: the case of vitamin production by lactic acid bacteria in traditional fermentations
Group Genetics, Laboratory of
Project type thesis
Credits 24 and up
Supervisor(s) Sijmen Schoustra
Examiner(s) Sijmen Schoustra, Bas Zwaan
Contact info Sijmen Schoustra
Begin date 2017/05/17
End date 2021/05/31
Description Ecosystems are comprised of combinations of interacting species that in combination define the functionality of the system. The different players in the system have a different contribution towards the overall functionality and in various comparable eco-systems a given functionality may be performed by different players.
We study functionality of eco-systems using traditional fermented foods consisting of a community of microbes that in combination form a functional ecosystem – a stable and reproducible product. Mabisi is a traditional fermented milk product in Zambia produced by way of spontaneously fermenting cow milk at ambient temperature for 24-48 hours. A number of lactic acid bacteria responsible for fermentation in the Zambian products have been characterised. These bacteria have been described to impart beneficial attributes to the products including increased food safety, organoleptic and compounds that give health benefits to the consumers. Some of the compounds produced by these bacteria include vitamins and short chain fatty acids. The vitamins are micronutrients that are essential for metabolic processes in all living organisms but cannot be synthesised by humans and therefore are obtained mostly from diet. Although most vitamins are found in a variety of food, deficiencies still exist especially in developing countries due to insufficient food intake, poor food preparation methods and consumption of unbalanced foods. Therefore increased consumption of fermented milk might increase consumption of the essential vitamins. In this project, we intend to find out if certain bacteria strain combinations can be used to produce fermented milk with increased production of the B vitamins (and short chain fatty acids?). Different strains will be combined at different concentrations to produce Mabisi and vitamin production will be assessed.
Used skills
Requirements Basic skills in microbiology.