The genome sequencing of S. xylosus is
ongoing, and information can be obtained at
www.cns.fr/externe/English/Projets/Projet_
NN/NN.html . Knowledge of the whole chro
mosome sequence of S. xylosus, whose size
has been estimated to be 2.86 Mb (Dordet -
Frisoni et al. 2007 ), will provide for a better
understanding of the physiology of this
species. A proteomics approach to study
cell - envelope proteins of S. xylosus has been
developed (Planchon et al. 2006, 2007 ), in
which a signifi cant set of cell - enveloped
proteins can be recovered. When such infor
mation is integrated with future analyses
of the transcripts, a more integrated and com
prehensive knowledge of the mechanism
by which meat starter bacteria contribute to
the fermentation of meat can be obtained, as
can how these bacteria interact with one
another.