Study of Beer Spoilage Lactobacillus nagelii Harboring Hop Resistance Gene horA

Abstract

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) cause the majority of beer spoilage incidents in the brewing industry. Previous studies revealed that the hop resistance genes, horA and horC, are applicable to the species-independent determination of beer spoilage ability of LAB. However, novel beer spoilage LAB species are occasionally emerging, and their insights should be shared in the industry to prevent spoilage incidents by these unknown species. In this study, Lactobacillus nagelii ABBC668 strain, isolated from spoiled pilsner-type beer, was investigated, as L. nagelii has been poorly characterized as a beer spoiler. The beer spoilage ability and hop resistance genes of L. nagelii ABBC668 were examined. Results showed that L. nagelii ABBC668 harbored hop resistance gene horA and exhibited beer spoilage ability. Also, it was considered that horA harbored by ABBC668 was acquired via horizontal gene transfer and had an unstable nature compared to that of Lactobacillus brevis. The unstable nature may account for the less frequent encounter of beer spoilage L. nagelii strains in the brewing industry. Furthermore, ABBC668 showed similar motility to other L. nagelii strains. To our knowledge, this is the first report of L. nagelii as a beer spoilage species.

Keywords:

• Beer spoilage
• hop resistance gene
• horA
• lactic acid bacteria (LAB)
• Lactobacillus nagelii
• motility

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).