02 Nov 2023 --- Researchers at the World Institute of Kimchi have isolated lactic acid bacteria (LAB) strains from kimchi with high levels of resistance to phages — viruses that infect and replicate within bacteria. The team sourced the Pediococcus inopinatus strain from Mukeunji — a long-term fermented kimchi that is in the final stage of fermentation.According to the researchers, the isolated P. inopinatus strain has a better defense system against gene invasion than Lactiplantibacillus plantarum, a bacteria strain commonly used in probiotics that is also present in kimchi. They suggest that P. inopinatus may have an immune role against mammalian viruses as well, though further research is needed.
