Lactic acid bacteria are generally mesophilic butcan grow at temperatures as low as 58C or as high as
458C. Similarly, while the majority of strains grow atpH 4.0–4.5, some are active at pH 9.6 and others at
pH 3.2. Strains are generally weakly proteolytic andlipolytic and require preformed amino acids, purineand pyrimidine bases and B vitamins for growth