Streptococcus thermophilus strain:B59671 Genome sequencing and assembly

Streptococcus thermophilus B59671 is a Gram-positive, thermophilic lactic acid bacterium isolated from raw milk. While S. thermophilus is commonly used as a starter culture for the production of yogurt and cheeses, some strains have been shown to produce broad-spectrum bacteriocins, which may allow for their use in food safety and probiotic applications. Previous studies have shown that the production of a broad-spectrum bacteriocin in S. thermophilus B59671 is regulated by the quorum sensing system encoded within the bacteriocin-like peptide (blp) gene cluster. In some S. thermophilus strains, the production of a bacteriocin was induced by supplementing growth medium with a synthetic QS signal peptide (BlpC); however, S. thermophilius B59671 was the first strain shown to naturally produce a blp-encoded bacteriocin. The current study has been performed to fully characterize the strain's genome and to identify regulators of gene expression.