Detection of resistance of lactic acid bacteria to a mixture of the hop analogue compounds tetrahydroiso-alpha-acids by noninvasive measurement of intracellular pH

AIMS: To examine the resistance of beer isolates of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) towards a mixture of tetrahydroiso-alpha-acids (Tetra) by growth experiments as well as by measurement of intracellular pH. METHODS AND RESULTS: Beer LAB isolates were identified to species level by SDS-PAGE of whole-cell proteins. Beer isolates of Lactobacillus brevis showed better ability for growth in the presence of Tetra than nonbeer isolates of the L. brevis or other species of LAB including beer and nonbeer isolates. The antimicrobial effect of Tetra was also examined by noninvasive measurement of intracellular pH by fluorescence ratio imaging microscopy for selected beer isolates of L. brevis and Pediococcus inopinatus. Strains of L. brevis showing limited decrease of intracellular pH during exposure to Tetra also showed better ability for growth in the presence of these compounds as well as in commercial beer products. CONCLUSIONS: It was possible to apply a method for noninvasive measurement of intracellular pH to predict the resistance of beer spoilage LAB towards the Tetra hop analogue compounds. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: This study demonstrated the usability of a new rapid method for detecting hop-resistant variants of known beer spoilage LAB species.