T
he genus Pediococcus is a member of the family Lactobacillaceae and is classified as a lactic acid bacterium (LAB), because the
main metabolic end product it produces is lactic acid ( 1). Like other members of the LAB family, Pediococcus pentosaceus is a Gram-positive, nonmotile, facultative anaerobe and is acid tolerant. P. pentosaceus, along with P. acidolactici, is often used as a starter culture in natural and controlled fermentations ( 2), being a member of indigenous microflora. The strain SL4 was isolated from a traditional Korean fermented vegetable product, kimchi. Based on the 16S RNA sequence, it was taxonomically classified as P. pentosaceus and deposited in the Korean Collection for Type Cultures (KCTC) under the accession number KCTC 10297. The strain was shown to inhibit the growth of Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus via production of a bacteriocin.