Culture-dependent and -Independent Investigations of the Effect of Addition of Jogi on the Bacterial Community of Kimchi

To determine effects of adding jogi fish (salted Atlantic croaker, Micropogonias undulatus) on bacterial community of baechu-kimchi, a traditional fermented kimchi cabbage food of Korea, bacterial communities were identified using culture-dependent and culture-independent techniques. Viable bacteria on tryptic soy agar of jogi-baechu-kimch and baechu-kimchi were increased from 5.6 to 5.8 logarithms of colony-forming units (log CFU)/g to 9.9 and 9.5 log CFU/g after 10 days fermentation, respectively, while the pH decreased. In culture-independent analysis, Latilactobacillus sakei and Leuconostoc mesenteroides were dominant as fermentation progressed in both types of kimchi. On the other hand, in culture-dependent analysis, Leuconostoc mesenteroides was found to be unrivaled. The addition of jogi did not induce changes in bacterial communities, although Carnobacterium inhibens originating from the fish was found in early stages of kimchi fermentation.