Lactic Acid and Diacetyl Production of Nitrosoguanidine Mutants Derived from Lactobacillus casei 34143 in Soymilk

Production of acid and diacetyl by nitrosoguanidine mutants of Lactobacillus casei 34143 was evaluated in soymilk. Optimum temperature for growthof the five cultures varied between 34.5 and 35.9℃. However, the temperature required for maximum production of diacetyl in soymilk in the parent culture was 32.7℃ and mutants such as N-14, N-15 and N-25 required a temperature of 29.6℃, while another mutant, L-7 required 26.4℃ for production of diacetyl. Parent and mutant cultures were deficient in citrate permease and citritase synthetic mechanisms, although lactose-utilising mutants (N-25 and S-3-1) possessed both β-galactosidase and phospho-β-galactosidase.