Draft genome sequence and annotation of Lactobacillus plantarum strain Lp90 isolated from Apulian (Italy) wine

Lactobacillus plantarum is a facultative heterofermentative lactic acid bacteria (LAB), found in many different ecological niches. L. plantarum is widely used as starter and probiotic in many food processes. Some strains are claimed to provide health benefits and are marketed as probiotics. Here we report the draft genome sequence and annotation of L. plantarum strain Lp90 previously isolated from Nero di Troia, a typical Apulian (South of Italy) wine. L. plantarum strain Lp90 has a noticeable ropy phenotype, which was ascribed to its capacity to over-produce exopolysaccharides (EPS). It is the first L. plantarum genome coming from a strain of wine origin sequenced. This strain was already characterized in a previous study describing the phenotypic and genomic diversity of L. plantarum strains isolated from various environmental niches and in three studies on Lp90 genes coding for small heat shock proteins. The genome of L. plantarum strain Lp90 consists of 3,324,076 bp in 33 contigs with a CG content of 44.32%. The genome size and the CG content are comparable those of published L. plantarum genomes (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genome/genomes/1108). Among the 3,273 predicted genes, 3,155 were protein coding genes, 34 were identified to be pseudo-genes, while 84 were RNA coding genes (70 tRNAs and 14 rRNAs). The presence of a signal peptide was predicted for 311 proteins. Transmembrane region analysis revealed 869 proteins containing transmembrane helices. The availability of the draft genome sequence of Lp90 represents the base to investigate some peculiar features of this strain, such as the EPS production and the ability to tolerate stress to the wine environment.