Physiology of lactic acid bacteria & in vivo NMR

Overview

The primary research interests of this team concern metabolic and transcriptional regulation in Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB). LAB is a group of Gram-positive bacteria with habitats ranging from milk to specific niches in the human body. Some members have been used for thousands of years in food fermentations (e.g. Lactococcus, Lactobacillus and Bifidus), whereas others are well-known for their ability to cause disease (e.g. Streptococcus). The key roles played at the industrial and clinical level have endowed LAB an enormous economical value and drawn scientific attention to this group of microbes. Sugar metabolism is central to the physiology of LAB, as carbohydrates probably represent their most important source of energy. Therefore, the perception of a direct connection between sugar metabolism for fitness in the host and the importance of these organisms for human health and well-being is the main motivation for our work.