Virgibacillus halodenitrificans MSK-10P, a Potential Protease-producing Starter Culture for Fermented Shrimp Paste (kapi) Production

Fermented shrimp paste (Kapi) is traditionally produced using a high content of salt and mainly consumed as a food condiment by the Thai people. In order to select potential functional autochthonous starter culture, the protease-producing bacteria from Kapi were isolated, screened, and evaluated for technological and safety aspects. Among 195 isolates, five bacterial strains (MSK-3P, MSK-4P, MSK-5P, MSK-7P, and MSK-10P) exhibited the highest activity of protease using Anson method. All of them were identified as Virgibacillus halodenitrificans using 16S rRNA sequence analysis. All selected strains exhibited growth in the presence of NaCl up to 25%. Neither strain showed hemolytic activity nor biogenic amine formation. Among all selected strains, only strain MSK-10P had no ability to form a biofilm, while four other strains showed a weak ability. Strain MSK-7P exhibited multiple resistances to tetracycline and vancomycin, while strains MSK-3P, MSK-4P, and MSK-10P showed susceptibility to all antibiotics tested. According to the obtained results, this protease-producing V. halodenitrificans MSK-10P is a good candidate for further investigation for use in Kapi fermentation to assess its technological performance as a autochthonous starter culture.