Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are candidate probiotic bacteria that can provide health benefits when delivered via functional foods. The purpose of this study was to isolate and characterize LAB from traditional cheeses consumed in north-west regions of Iran. A number of sixty traditional cheeses samples were collected and initially screened as LAB using biochemical and molecular methods. A fragment of 1,540 bp in size of 16s rRNA gene was amplified from 70 bacterial isolates. Restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) was employed to differentiate LAB isolates. LAB isolates generated three different RFLP patterns using HinfI restriction enzyme. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that LAB isolates belonged to three genera including Enterococcus, Lactobacillus, and Lactococcus. Most of the isolated LAB strains belonged to Enterococcus spp. The antimicrobial performance of eight LAB isolates with different RFLP patterns ranged from 6.72 to 14.00 mm. It was concluded that molecular characterization of LAB strains in traditional cheeses will enhance our understanding of traditional food microbiota and will help to find bacterial strains with probiotic potential with great benefit both in health and industry.

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