Leuconostoc oenos sp.nov.

Nineteen strains of Gram-positive cocci isolated from wine and belonging to the genus Leuconostoc were examined and are considered to form a new species which is named Leuconostoc oenos. These strains differ from other leuconostocs because they grow better in a medium containing tomato juice than in yeast glucose citrate broth normally used in this laboratory for the genus. Furthermore, they grow well in media in which the pH value is too acid for other Leuconostoc species to initiate growth. The cultures of L. oenos do not form dextran from sucrose. They form acid from fructose, glucose, trehalose and aesculin, generally from melibiose and salicin. They may form acid from arabinose, xylose, galactose, mannose and cellobiose, but not from lactose, maltose, sucrose, raffinose, dextrin, glycerol, mannitol or sorbitol.