Leuconostocaceae

The Leuconostocaceae is a family of Gram-positive bacteria, placed within the order of Lactobacillales. Representative genera include Leuconostoc, Oenococcus and Weissella. Bacteria that belongs to these three genera are Gram-positive, non-spore-forming, round or elongated in shape, are anaerobic or aerotolerant. They usually inhabit nutrient-rich environments such as milk, meat, vegetable products and fermented drinks (Björkroth & Holzapfel, 2006 ). Lactic acid is the main end product of their characteristic heterofermentative carbohydrate metabolism. The phylogeny of the family of Leuconostocaceae has recently been evaluated by Chelo et al., 2007