Pan-genomic and transcriptomic analyses of Leuconostoc mesenteroides provide insights into its genomic and metabolic features and roles in kimchi fermentation

The genomic and metabolic features of Leuconostoc ( Leu ) mesenteroides were investigated through pan-genomic and transcriptomic analyses. Relatedness analysis of 17 Leu . mesenteroides strains available in GenBank based on 16S rRNA gene sequence, average nucleotide identity, in silico DNA-DNA hybridization, molecular phenotype, and core-genome indicated that Leu . mesenteroides has been separated into different phylogenetic lineages. Pan-genome of Leu . mesenteroides strains, consisting of 999 genes in core-genome, 1,432 genes in accessory-genome, and 754 genes in unique genome, and their COG and KEGG analyses showed that Leu . mesenteroides harbors strain-specifically diverse metabolisms, probably representing high evolutionary genome changes. The reconstruction of fermentative metabolic pathways for Leu . mesenteroides strains showed that Leu . mesenteroides produces various metabolites such as lactate, ethanol, acetate, CO 2 , mannitol, diacetyl, acetoin, and 2,3-butanediol through an obligate heterolactic fermentation from various carbohydrates. Fermentative metabolic features of Leu . mesenteroides during kimchi fermentation were investigated through transcriptional analyses for the KEGG pathways and reconstructed metabolic pathways of Leu . mesenteroides using kimchi metatranscriptomic data. This was the first study to investigate the genomic and metabolic features of Leu . mesenteroides through pan-genomic and metatranscriptomic analyses, and may provide insights into its genomic and metabolic features and a better understanding of kimchi fermentations by Leu . mesenteroides .