Mining natural diversity of lactic acid bacteria for flavour and health benefits

Starter cultures used for the production of fermented dairy products play a key role in final product quality with respect to preservation, organoleptic quality and nutritional value. The impact on product quality is highly strain dependent and is caused by differences between strains with respect to the presence and activity of metabolic pathways. In this paper, examples are discussed of the phenotypic diversity of flavour formation and the production of nutraceuticals. Finally, the possibility for using automated screening and genomics technologies for harvesting natural diversity is evaluated.