Bosnian sudzuk is a dry fermented sausage produced in a rural household near
the town of Visoko in central Bosnia and Herzegovina. This kind of sausage
was manufactured only from beef and spices in a traditional way without the
addition of a starter cultures. To identify lactic acid bacteria (LAB), a
total number of 160 Lstrains were isolated from five samples of Bosnian
sudzuk collected over 28 days of fermentation. Preliminary identification by
phenotypic tests and 16S rDNA sequencing were performed for all 160 of the
Lisolates. Identification of Lstrains from traditionally produced
Bosnian sausage at the species level revealed the presence of six genera:
Lactococcus sp., Enterococcus sp., Leuconostoc sp., Lactobacillus sp.,
Pediococcus sp. and Weissella sp.. Among the 15 distinct species identified,
the species Lactobacillus plantarum, Leuconostoc mesenteroides, Lactococcus
lactis, Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus durans were present throughout
the entire process of fermentation. Leuconostoc mesenteroides, Lactobacillus
plantarum and Lactococcus lactis prevailed, with 21.8%, 19.3% and 13.1%,
respectively, of total Lstrains during the entire fermentation process.
Significant negative correlations (r = 0.892 and r = 0.829, respectively)
between the presence of Weissella sp. and Lactobacillus sp., and between the
presence of Weissella sp. and Lactococcus sp. were recorded. Lactobacillus
plantarum, Enterococcus durans and Leuconostoc mesenteroides were the best
producers of aromogenic compounds while 32.3% of Lactobacillus plantarum and
28.6% of Leuconostoc mesenteroides were produced exopolysaccharides.