Özet:

            Lactobacillus plantarum is one of the most popular lactic acid bacteria that is widely applied in the food industry as a probiotic and natural preservative. Thus, this study was designed to isolate Lactobacillus plantarum from raw cow milk from Kirkuk city and to identify the strains phenotypically and by molecular means. Accordingly, five Lactobacillus plantarum- like strains were isolated out of sixty milk samples. These strains were identified phenotypically as white, round colonies when grown on MRS medium. They were Gram-positive rods, non-motile and catalase-negative. In addition, those organisms showed strong resistance to some antibiotics. On the other hand, the isolates showed sensitivity to other β-lactam agents which included ampicillin and ceftriaxone. Furthermore, the isolates showed strong antibacterial activity against some indicator bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus and  Staphylococcus epidermidis and then against the pathogenic bacteria E.coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Additionally, the taxonomy of the isolates was recognized to the species level by partial sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene and the analysis of the phylogenetic tree. Consequently, the five isolated strains showed 99% homology with some Lactobacillus plantarum strains listed in the NCBI. Afterwards, the isolates were registered in the NCBI.

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