Lactic acid bacteria isolated from U.S. Midwest corn dry-grind fuel ethanol facility

Commercial fuel ethanol facilities experience chronic microbial contamination, which lowers ethanol production efficiency. The predominant contaminants are lactic acid bacteria, and severe contamination can completely stall fermentations and lead to costly facility shutdowns for cleaning. In this study, whole genome sequencing was performed on a collection of lactic acid bacteria isolated during a 2-year longitudinal study at a U.S. Midwest corn dry-grind fuel ethanol facility. These isolates had previously been characterized for their ability to form biofilms and inhibit a laboratory-scale model ethanol fermentation.