IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,545,887
Granted Patent B2
US 12,545,887 · App. 17/758,150 · Granted Feb 10, 2026

Sucrose negative

Inventors: Peggy Garault (Saclay, FR); Jean-Michel Faurie (Jouy-en-Josas, FR); Gaëlle Quere (Montlhery, FR)
Assignee: Compagnie Gervais Danone
C12N1/205A23C9/1238A23C2220/202A23C2260/05A23V2400/249
View Patent ↗
Loading inventors, assignments & file history…
Monitor This Case
Get email alerts when status or documents change.
Order Certified Copies
Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.
Order via The Patent Place →
Pre-filled with this patent's details
Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,545,887
App. No.
17/758,150
Granted
Feb 10, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

The present invention relates to novel sucrose negative (Suc−) Streptococcus thermophilus strains, compositions comprising said strains, uses thereof, methods for obtaining such strains and methods for the preparation of fermented food products using such compositions.

Claims (28)

1 . A mutant Streptococcus thermophilus strain that it is galactose positive and sucrose negative.

2 . The mutant strain of claim 1 , wherein the strain is a texturizing strain.

3 . The mutant strain of claim 1 , wherein the strain is glucose positive.

4 . The mutant strain of claim 1 , wherein the mutant strain has been deposited at the CNCM under reference number CNCM I-5448.

5 . A composition comprising the mutant strain of claim 1 .

6 . The composition according to claim 5 , wherein the composition comprises at least 10 5 CFU/g of said mutant strain.

7 . The composition of claim 5 , wherein said composition is a food product.

8 . The composition of claim 7 , wherein said food product is a dairy product or a dairy alternative.

9 . A method for preparing a fermented food product comprising:

i) providing a mixture comprising:

a) milk, and

b) at least one S. thermophilus strain of claim 1 , and

ii) fermenting said mixture to provide a fermented food product.

10 . The composition of claim 5 , wherein the composition has a viscosity of at least 800 mPa·s.

11 . The composition of claim 5 , wherein the composition has a pH of 4.7 or lower.

12 . The composition of claim 5 , further comprising at least one strain of Bifidobacterium or lactic acid bacteria.

13 . A method for obtaining a S. thermophilus strain according to claim 1 , comprising:

i) providing a first S. thermophilus strain,

ii) selecting at least one galactose positive clone thereof, and

iii) mutating said selected clone(s) selected in ii), and selecting at least one sucrose negative variant thereof.

14 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising:

iv) selecting a sucrose negative variant that is the most fermentative in a milk based medium and/or subculturing a sucrose negative variant in a milk based medium.

15 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the fermented food product has a viscosity of at least 800 mPa·s.

16 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the fermented food product has a pH of 4.7 or lower.

17 . The method of claim 9 , further comprising providing at least one strain of Bifidobacterium or lactic acid bacteria to the mixture.

18 . The method of claim 13 , wherein said mutating is performed by means of chemical and/or radiation.

19 . The composition of claim 7 , wherein the food product is a fermented food product.

20 . The composition of claim 19 , wherein the fermented food product is yogurt, kefir, buttermilk, quark, sour cream, or cheese.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jul 25, 2022
From: GARAULT, PEGGY; FAURIE, JEAN-MICHEL; QUERE, GAELLE
To: COMPAGNIE GERVAIS DANONE
Reel/Frame 060608/0718 →
Priority Claims (1)
EP 19306785 · Dec 30, 2019 · regional
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20230038154A1 · Feb 9, 2023
References Cited (52)
US 20070292561A1 · Garault et al. · 2007 [cited by applicant]
CA 2304985A1 · 1999 [cited by applicant]
EP 2529035A1 · 2012 [cited by applicant]
EP 2957180A1 · 2015 [cited by examiner]
JP 5144186B2 · 2013 [cited by applicant]
WO 2011092300A1 · 2011 [cited by applicant]
WO 2017103051A1 · 2017 [cited by applicant]
WO 2018177835A1 · 2018 [cited by applicant]
WO 2019043115A1 · 2019 [cited by applicant]
WO 2019122365A1 · 2019 [cited by applicant]
Robitaille et al, “Fat-free yogurt made using a galactose-positive exopolysaccharide-producing recombinant strain of [cited by applicant]
Anbukkarasi et al, “Preparation of low galactose yogurt using cultures of Gal+ [cited by applicant]
International Search Report and Written Opinion mailed Mar. 19, 2021 for PCT Application No. PCT/EP2020/088014. [cited by applicant]
Bogaard et al., “Sugar Utilisation and Conservation of the gal-lac Gene Cluster in [cited by applicant]
Clemens et al., “Functionality of Sugars in Foods and Health”, Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, vol. 15, No. 3. 2016, pp. 433-470. [cited by applicant]
Cui et al., “New advances in exopolysaccharides production of [cited by applicant]
Dragosits et al., “Adaptive laboratory evolution—principles and applications for biotechnology”, Microbial Cell Factories, vol. 12, No. 64, 2013, pp. 1-17. [cited by applicant]
Elli et al., “Survival of yogurt bacteria in the human gut”, Applied Environmental Microbiology, vol. 72, No. 7, Jul. 2006, pp. 5113-5117. [cited by applicant]
Erkus et al., “High genetic and phenotypic variability of [cited by applicant]
Galia et al., “Acquisition of PrtS in [cited by applicant]
Garault et al., “Branched-Chain Amino Acid Biosynthesis Is Essential for Optimal Growth of [cited by applicant]
Garault, Peggy, “Declaration of Dr Peggy Garault”, European patent EP3845069B1, Date Unknown, pp. 1-27. [cited by applicant]
Letter on Microbial Deposit from CNCM, dated Nov. 19, 2020 (Original Document only). [cited by applicant]
Herman et al., “Isolation and Partial Characterization of Plasmid DNA from [cited by applicant]
Høier et al., “Chapter 5—The Production, Application and Action of Lactic Cheese Starter Cultures”, Technology of Cheesemaking, 2nd edition, Blackwell Publishing Ltd., 2010, pp. 166-192. [cited by applicant]
Hu et al., “Technological properties assessment and two component systems distribution of [cited by applicant]
Hurtado-Ortiz, Raquel, “Identification of the microorganism”, Budapest treaty on the international recognition of the deposit of microorganisms for the purposes of patent procedure, Feb. 6, 2020, 2 pages (Original Docum… [cited by applicant]
Johansen et al., “Modern approaches for isolation, selection, and improvement of bacterial strains for fermentation applications”, Advances in Fermented Foods and Beverages, Woodhead Publishing, 2015, pp. 227-248. [cited by applicant]
Johansen et al., “Use of Natural Selection and Evolution to Develop New Starter Cultures for Fermented Foods”, Annual Review of Food Science and Technology, vol. 9, 2018, pp. 411-428. [cited by applicant]
Jones et al., “Integration of image analysis and robotics into a fully automated colony picking and plate handling system”, Nucleic Acids Research, vol. 20, No. 17, 1992, pp. 4599-4606. [cited by applicant]
Low et al., “Role of [cited by applicant]
Martinez et al., “Lactic acid properties, applications and production: A review”, Trends in Food Science & Technology, vol. 30, 2013, pp. 70-83. [cited by applicant]
Martinovic et al., “ [cited by applicant]
Mitchell et al., “Associative Growth and Differential Enumeration of [cited by applicant]
Occhino et al., “A Comparison of Beta-Galactosidase Specific Activities in Strains of [cited by applicant]
Proust et al., “Complete Genome Sequence of the Industrial Fast-Acidifying Strain [cited by applicant]
Somkuti et al., “Adaptability of [cited by applicant]
Somkuti et al., “β-Fructofuranosidase activity in disaccharide transport mutants of [cited by applicant]
Unknown, “Annotated simple Espacenet family of D10 (WO2011092300A1)”, Espacenet, Downloaded on Oct. 13, 2023, pp. 1-2. [cited by applicant]
Unknown, “Annotated simple Espacenet family of D5 (WO2017103051A1)”, Espacenet, Downloaded on Oct. 13, 2023, 1 page. [cited by applicant]
Unknown, “Annotated simple Espacenet family of D6 (WO2019122365A1)”, Espacenet, Downloaded on Oct. 13, 2023, 1 page. [cited by applicant]
Unknown, “Annotated simple Espacenet family of D7 (WO2018177835A1)”, Espacenet, Downloaded on Oct. 13, 2023, 1 page. [cited by applicant]
Unknown, “NCIMB 701968”, NCIMB, Downloaded on Oct. 17, 2024, 1 page. [cited by applicant]
Unknown, “Part I: General requirements for deposit and furnishing of samples”, WIPO, Available on internet at <https://www.wipo.int/documents/d/budapest-system/docs-en-guide-part_i.pdf>, Date Unknown, pp. 1-30. [cited by applicant]
Unknown, “print out of exchanges between the Patentee and NCIMB culture collection”, Outlook, 2024, 6 pages. [cited by applicant]
Unknown, “prok_in_catalog”, Print out of NRRL online catalogue, downloaded on Nov. 6, 2024, pp. 1-462. [cited by applicant]
Unknown, “Screening Robotics and Automation”, Product Focus, Journal of Biomolecular Screening, vol. 12, No. 8, 2007, pp. 1120-1125. [cited by applicant]
Unknown, “ [cited by applicant]
Xiong et al., “Genomic and phenotypic analyses of exopolysaccharide biosynthesis in [cited by applicant]
Zhang et al., “A greedy algorithm for aligning DNA sequences”, Journal of Computational Biology, vol. 7, No. 1/2, 2000, pp. 203-214. [cited by applicant]
Mariela Serrano, “Characterisation of NCIMB 701968,” submitted in the Opposition of EP Patent No. 3845069 (Application No. 19306785.7), submitted on Jun. 11, 2025. [cited by applicant]
Interlocutory Decision in Opposition of EP Patent No. 3845069 (Application No. 19306785.7), mailed Feb. 11, 2025. [cited by applicant]