Develop a droplet microfluidic method for quick and efficient strain isolation from environmental samples

Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) have been important in food production for centuries, well before the scientific understanding of microbes had been established. LAB are important for various applications within food, e.g. fermented dairy products like cheese and yoghurt, fermented vegetables like sauerkraut and fermented meat like salami, ultimately extending the shelf life of the fermented food compared to the fresh product. LAB are not a monophyletic group of microorganisms, but share the common feature of producing lactic acid upon fermentation of carbon sources. LAB used in foods include representatives from Lactobacillus species, Leuconostoc species, Oenococcus species, Lactococcus lactis strains and Streptococcus thermophilus strains. With the increasing world population and climate changes, there is a growing interest in alternative food products that also may benefit from fermentations and hence strains capable of fermenting plant bases are of general interest to the food industry.

LAB can be found in many different environments including plant surfaces. LAB occupy diverse ecological niches, partly due to many having large genomic repertoires, which allows them to metabolize a wider range of nutrient sources. Accessing plant associated LAB, by isolation and subsequent characterization of individual strains will allow to select ideal strains for future applications in the field of plant-based dairy alternatives.