Identification of lactic acid bacteria associated with the production of plaa-som, a traditional fermented fish product of Thailand

Plaa-som is a Thai fermented fish product for which whole fish or fish fillets are fermented with either cooked rice or steamed sticky rice, salt, and garlic. A total of 762 lactic acid bacteria (LAB) were isolated during plaa-som fermentation by culture on CaCO3-MRS agar plates. They were screened and grouped by amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis (ARDRA), giving six groups that were identified by ribosomal DNA sequencing as Lactococcus garvieae, Streptococcus bovis, Weissella cibaria, Pediococcus pentosaceus, Lactobacillus plantarum, and Lactobacillus fermentum. Freshly mixed ingredients contained low populations of LAB (less than 10 CFU/g) that subsequently grew during fermentation to final populations of approximately 107 CFU/g. Early stages of the process were dominated by the presence of Lc. garvieae, S. bovis, and W. cibaria. At 48 h into fermentation, W. cibaria, P. pentosaceus, and Lb. plantarum were prevalent, and gave way to a dominance of Lb. plantarum that completed the fermentation. A mixture of these LAB species could be considered as species for development of a starter culture for plaa-som fermentation.