close
Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2018 Jan;102(2):515-538.
doi: 10.1007/s00253-017-8616-7. Epub 2017 Nov 22.

Propionibacterium spp.-source of propionic acid, vitamin B12, and other metabolites important for the industry

Kamil Piwowarek  1 , Edyta Lipińska  2 , Elżbieta Hać-Szymańczuk  2 , Marek Kieliszek  2 , Iwona Ścibisz  3
Affiliations
Review

Propionibacterium spp.-source of propionic acid, vitamin B12, and other metabolites important for the industry

Kamil Piwowarek et al. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol. 2018 Jan.

Abstract

Bacteria from the Propionibacterium genus consists of two principal groups: cutaneous and classical. Cutaneous Propionibacterium are considered primary pathogens to humans, whereas classical Propionibacterium are widely used in the food and pharmaceutical industries. Bacteria from the Propionibacterium genus are capable of synthesizing numerous valuable compounds with a wide industrial usage. Biomass of the bacteria from the Propionibacterium genus constitutes sources of vitamins from the B group, including B12, trehalose, and numerous bacteriocins. These bacteria are also capable of synthesizing organic acids such as propionic acid and acetic acid. Because of GRAS status and their health-promoting characteristics, bacteria from the Propionibacterium genus and their metabolites (propionic acid, vitamin B12, and trehalose) are commonly used in the cosmetic, pharmaceutical, food, and other industries. They are also used as additives in fodders for livestock. In this review, we present the major species of Propionibacterium and their properties and provide an overview of their functions and applications. This review also presents current literature concerned with the possibilities of using Propionibacterium spp. to obtain valuable metabolites. It also presents the biosynthetic pathways as well as the impact of the genetic and environmental factors on the efficiency of their production.

Keywords: Bacteriocins; Propionibacterium; Propionic acid; Trehalose; Vitamin B12.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Compliance with ethics requirements

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Route of propionic acid biosynthesis in Propionibacterium species (Falentin et al. 2010) *enzyme number (red), gene name (black), locus (green)
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Vitamin B12 biosynthesis by the bacteria from Propionibacterium genus (Falentin et al. 2010) *enzyme number (red), gene name (black)
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Scheme of metabolism of trehalose in P. freudenreichii (Cardoso et al. ; Ruhal et al. 2013)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Aleman G, Tovar AR, Torres N. Homocysteine metabolism and risk of cardiovascular diseases: importance of the nutritional status on folic acid, vitamins B6 and B12. Rev Investig Clin. 2001;53:141–151. - PubMed
    1. Al-Zoreky NJ, Ayres W, Sandine WE. Antimicrobial activity of Microgard™ against food spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms. J Dairy Sci. 1991;74:758–763. doi: 10.3168/jds.S0022-0302(91)78222-2. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Ammar EM, Jin Y, Wang Z, Yang ST. Metabolic engineering of Propionibacterium freudenreichii: effect of expressing phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase on propionic acid production. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol. 2014;98:77–61. doi: 10.1007/s00253-014-5836-y. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Angelopoulou A, Alexandraki V, Georgalaki M, Anastasiou R, Manolopoulou E, Tsakalidou E, Papadimitriou K. Production of probiotic Feta cheese using Propionibacterium freudenreichii subsp. shermanii as adjunct. Int Dairy J. 2017;66:135–139. doi: 10.1016/j.idairyj.2016.11.011. - DOI
    1. Avonce N, Mendoza-Vargas A, Morett E, Iturriaga G. Insights on the evolution of trehalose biosynthesis. BMC Evol Biol. 2006;6:1–15. doi: 10.1186/1471-2148-6-109. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources