Isolation and identification of cultivable lactic acid bacteria in traditional fermented milk of Tibet in China

One hundred and seventy‐one strains of lactic acid bacteria were isolated from 44 traditional fermented milk samples from different region of Tibet. Among these samples, the concentrations of lactic acid bacteria varied from 10 5 to 10 9 colony forming unit/mL. The ratio of rod bacteria (71.3%) was higher than that of cocci (28.7%), and was considered to be the major population. Lactobacillus fermentum (31%) and Lactobacillus casei (28%) were the most predominant species among all these isolates. This study systematically analysed the microbial composition of traditional fermented milk in China, which may become a valuable source for further starter selection.