Culture-dependent molecular identification of atypical bacteria in traditionally produced yogurt from Kars, Türkiye

Koray İşbaralı; Orhan Uluçay

doi:10.31015/jaefs.2026.1.31

Culture-dependent molecular identification of atypical bacteria in traditionally produced yogurt from Kars, Türkiye

Abstract

The study reported the isolation of culturable bacteria from different homemade yogurt samples traditionally known to be produced in the vicinity of Kars province in Türkiye. The study described several techniques of analysis for nutritional, physicochemical, and microbiological characters, and the microorganisms were characterized by morphological criteria and 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. According to the sequencing results, the isolates were similar to members of the genus Bacillus, including Bacillus aerius 24Kᵀ, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens DSM 7ᵀ, Bacillus cereus ATCC 14579ᵀ, Bacillus halotolerans LMG 24826ᵀ, Bacillus subtilis DSM 10ᵀ, Bacillus simplex DSM 1321ᵀ, Bacillus tequilensis KCTC 13622ᵀ, and Bacillus wiedmannii FSL W8-0169ᵀ. Other genera detected included Staphylococcus epidermidis ATCC 12228ᵀ, Klebsiella oxytoca ATCC 13182ᵀ, Ralstonia pickettii ATCC 27511ᵀ, and Pseudomonas helleri DSM 26263ᵀ (LPSN, accessed 12 October 2025). P. helleri was detected in a traditional yogurt sample from among the identified isolates, ensuring that there were bacteria not commonly thought to be part of yogurt fermentation. Physicochemical analyses revealed pH values ranging from 2.97-4.89, titration acidity 1.22-1.58%, serum separation 10.00-52.00 ml/100g, dry matter 11.84-16.33%, fat 2.43-3.87%, non-fat dry matter 8.33-13.22% and ash content 0.61-1.03%. In conclusion, the findings indicate that there is a wide variance in the hygienic and microbiological quality of home-processed yogurt and that hygienic practices and monitoring are extremely important in home processing systems.

Keywords

Traditional yoghurt, bacterial isolation, 16S rDNA, physical analysis, molecular characterization

Supporting Institution

The study was sponsored by the Scientific Research Projects Coordination Unit of Kafkas University (2021-FM-54)

Project Number

2021-FM-54

Thanks

The article is based on the MSc thesis of Koray Isbaralı. Some 16S rRNA gene sequences that were not previously submitted to GenBank during the thesis stage were re-sequenced for this publication. The authors thank Dr. Sezen Harmankaya for her valuable contributions to the conduct and evaluation of this study. During manuscript preparation, language-check and clarity-enhancement tools such as Grammarly, OpenAI, DeepL, Google Translate, and QuillBot were used. The authors have carefully reviewed and manually edited all content after using these tools and accept full responsibility for the final version of the article.

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Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Food Biotechnology, Food Microbiology, Enzyme and Microbial Biotechnology in Agriculture

Journal Section

Research Article

Authors

Koray İşbaralı
0000-0003-3278-2425
Türkiye

Orhan Uluçay ^*
0000-0002-0820-5372
Türkiye

Early Pub Date

March 21, 2026

Publication Date

March 21, 2026

Submission Date

February 17, 2026

Acceptance Date

March 21, 2026

Published in Issue

Year 2026 Volume: 10 Number: 1

DOI

https://doi.org/10.31015/jaefs.2026.1.31

IZ

https://izlik.org/JA62AX55EU

APA

İşbaralı, K., & Uluçay, O. (2026). Culture-dependent molecular identification of atypical bacteria in traditionally produced yogurt from Kars, Türkiye. International Journal of Agriculture Environment and Food Sciences, 10(1), 288-299. https://doi.org/10.31015/jaefs.2026.1.31

AMA

1.İşbaralı K, Uluçay O. Culture-dependent molecular identification of atypical bacteria in traditionally produced yogurt from Kars, Türkiye. int. j. agric. environ. food sci. 2026;10(1):288-299. doi:10.31015/jaefs.2026.1.31

Chicago

İşbaralı, Koray, and Orhan Uluçay. 2026. “Culture-Dependent Molecular Identification of Atypical Bacteria in Traditionally Produced Yogurt from Kars, Türkiye”. International Journal of Agriculture Environment and Food Sciences 10 (1): 288-99. https://doi.org/10.31015/jaefs.2026.1.31.

EndNote

İşbaralı K, Uluçay O (March 1, 2026) Culture-dependent molecular identification of atypical bacteria in traditionally produced yogurt from Kars, Türkiye. International Journal of Agriculture Environment and Food Sciences 10 1 288–299.

IEEE

[1]K. İşbaralı and O. Uluçay, “Culture-dependent molecular identification of atypical bacteria in traditionally produced yogurt from Kars, Türkiye”, int. j. agric. environ. food sci., vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 288–299, Mar. 2026, doi: 10.31015/jaefs.2026.1.31.

ISNAD

İşbaralı, Koray - Uluçay, Orhan. “Culture-Dependent Molecular Identification of Atypical Bacteria in Traditionally Produced Yogurt from Kars, Türkiye”. International Journal of Agriculture Environment and Food Sciences 10/1 (March 1, 2026): 288-299. https://doi.org/10.31015/jaefs.2026.1.31.

JAMA

1.İşbaralı K, Uluçay O. Culture-dependent molecular identification of atypical bacteria in traditionally produced yogurt from Kars, Türkiye. int. j. agric. environ. food sci. 2026;10:288–299.

MLA

İşbaralı, Koray, and Orhan Uluçay. “Culture-Dependent Molecular Identification of Atypical Bacteria in Traditionally Produced Yogurt from Kars, Türkiye”. International Journal of Agriculture Environment and Food Sciences, vol. 10, no. 1, Mar. 2026, pp. 288-99, doi:10.31015/jaefs.2026.1.31.

Vancouver

1.Koray İşbaralı, Orhan Uluçay. Culture-dependent molecular identification of atypical bacteria in traditionally produced yogurt from Kars, Türkiye. int. j. agric. environ. food sci. 2026 Mar. 1;10(1):288-99. doi:10.31015/jaefs.2026.1.31

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Culture-dependent molecular identification of atypical bacteria in traditionally produced yogurt from Kars, Türkiye

Culture-dependent molecular identification of atypical bacteria in traditionally produced yogurt from Kars, Türkiye

Abstract

Keywords

Supporting Institution

Project Number

Thanks

References

Details

Primary Language

Subjects

Journal Section

Authors

Early Pub Date

Publication Date

Submission Date

Acceptance Date

Published in Issue

DOI

IZ

Cite

Abstracting & Indexing Services

© International Journal of Agriculture, Environment and Food Sciences