Week of 4/5

 I have selected samples 3 and 4 which were a control starter and a banana starter. I found the Lactobacillus plantarum microbe was present in the banana starter and not the control. This microbe is used in the fermentation of many foods due to its ability to produce lactic acid. By producing lactic acid and other antimicrobial compounds, Lactobacillus plantarum degrades lactose, acidifies it, and produces aromatic compounds. This also contributes to the safety, flavor, and texture of the fermented food https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1687157X18300234. There has been research that found that Lactobacillus plantarum is a common microbe found in bananas in Taiwan https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28229214/. Here is the sequenced genome of L. plantarum https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genome/?term=Lactobacillus%20plantarum[Organism]&cmd=DetailsSearch. This microbe has also been found in the GI tract of humans. It’s been discovered that certain genes are responsible for stress-related functions, allowing it to survive in the harsh environment. Proteins encoded by these genes may have probiotic effects and could potentially serve as delivery vehicles for health promoting compounds to the GI tract. I found that there was "vector-free engineering of Lactobacillus plantarum by chromosomal integration of an exogenous gene without inactivation of physiological traits" https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00253-008-1527-x. Simply put, scientists were able to edit the chromosomes of this microbe without changing the phenotype or function of it and they did this by editing a nonfunctional region of the chromosome. I never found anything on what they inserted but this method could be used to insert genes to increase the fitness of the microbe or make it more powerful. I predict that any samples containing a citrus fruit will contain this microbe because citrus fruits are beneficial to the GI tract and so is this microbe.