Towards the diversification of lactococcal starter and non‐starter species in mesophilic dairy culture systems

Lactococcus is one of the earliest identified fermentative bacterial genera and among its member species, the dairy‐associated Lactococcus lactis and Lactococcus cremoris are undoubtedly the best studied. These two species are believed to have evolved from plant‐associated lactococci and through genome decay and acquisition of plasmids, have adapted to the dairy niche. The past decade has witnessed a surge of activity in novel lactococcal species identification from insect, plant and animal sources. Currently, 22 Lactococcus species are described and in this review, we summarise the genome characteristics of and phylogenetic relationships among these species. Furthermore, we explore the role of mobile elements including plasmids and bacteriophages in the diversification of lactococcal species. The pace of identification of novel lactococcal species suggests that the number of lactococcal species is likely to continue to grow. With additional sequence data for the emerging species, it will be possible to perform pathogenicity/virulence risk evaluations and generate extensive insights into the niche adaptation strategies through which they have evolved.