Project Number: 1935-41000-064-00
Project Type: Appropriated

Start Date: Jun 04, 2004
End Date: Jun 03, 2009

Objective:
Develop lactic fermentation bacteria with genetic capacity to produce natural or milk-based bioactive food ingredients to improve the health-promoting, functional and bioprotective properties of foods by utilizing microbial, molecular, gene, enzyme and proteomic technologies, and evaluate production media formulated from dairy wastes, such as whey.

Approach:
Microbial and molecular biotechnology, gene, enzyme and proteomic technologies will be used to develop selected lactic fermentation and probiotic bacteria used in dairy food production with the capacity to generate bioactive peptides. Transport systems fitted with regulatory elements will be constructed to deliver genes into food-grade bacteria (streptococci, lactococci, lactobacilli), and conditions of gene transfer and stability, nutrient requirements and other growth parameters will be optimized for gene product synthesis and secretion in selected host systems. Superior cultures will be tested for productivity in fermentation media based on whey effluents of dairy manufacturing. Cell lines and their products will be evaluated in prototype food systems.