Identification and Distribution of Bacillus Species in Doenjang by Whole-Cell Protein Patterns and 16S rRNA Gene Sequence Analysis

Many bacteria are involved in the fermentation of doenjang, and Bacillus species are known to perform significant roles. Although SDS-PAGE has been frequently used to classify and identify bacteria in various samples, the microbial diversity in doenjang has not yet been investigated. This study aims to determine the identity and distribution of dominant Bacillus species in doenjang using SDS-PAGE profiles of whole-cell proteins and 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Reference Bacillus strains yielded differential SDS-PAGE banding patterns that could be considered to be highly specific fingerprints. Grouping of bacterial strains isolated from doenjang samples by whole-cell protein patterns was confirmed by analysis of their 16S rRNA gene sequences. B. subtilis was found to be the most dominant strain in most of the samples, whereas B. licheniformis and B. amyloliquefaciens were less frequently found but were also detected in several samples. The results obtained in this study show that a combined identification method using SOS PAGE profiles of whole-cell proteins and subsequent 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis could successfully identify Bacillus species isolated from doenjang.