Identification and functional traits of lactic acid bacteria isolated from Ciauscolo salami produced in Central Italy

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) from Ciauscolo salami produced in Marche Region of Central Italy, and LAB strains be-longing to our laboratory collection were examined for their capability to survive at low pH and bile, to adhere to Caco-2cells, and for antibiotic resistance. LAB fromCiauscolo were identifiedbyARDRAandRAPD-PCR. Our study showed that all LAB strains hadgood adaptation to gastric juice andmoderate tolerance to bile. The adhesiveness was variable among strains but significantly lower in LAB from food. Antibiotic resistance was broadly spread among food strains, with level of resistance exceeding 15% for all the antibiotics tested. The resistance determi-nantserm(B) andtet(M) were found in nine strains of food origin (21.4%)whiletet(L) in one strain of our collec-tion (5%). Our work suggests that fermented foods are valuable sources of bacterial strains with functional traits of intestinal lactobacilli. These bacteria may be further studied for their use in probiotic applications.