Bacteriocin-producing Bacillus species have an attractive interest as less studied spore-
forming probiotics for food production. In this study, 20 strains of Bacillus were isolated
from soumbala, a local fermented food condiment from Burkina Faso. They were charac-
terized based on phenotype, antibacterial activity against Listeria monocytogenes NTCT983
and genotypic analysis by PCR, using specific primers for Bacillus sp., B. subtilis group, B.
cereus group, bacteriocin genes, subtilin gene (spaS) and subtilosin gene (sboA). All the iso-
lates were presumptively identified as Bacillus spp. with predominance of B. subtilis species
(30%). Out of 20 strains, 11 showed anti-Listeria activity, with inhibition zones ranging
from 11.12±0.53 mm (strain B21) to 25.25±0.35 mm (strain F25). PCR profiles revealed
that 18 strains belonged to the B. subtilis group while O28 and O46 belonged to the B.
cereus species. In addition, 13 strains carried bacteriocin genes, 10 possessed gene sboA and
only strain O48 carried gene spaS. This finding highlights the predominance of bacteriocin-
producing B. subtilis group species in Soumbala production population. These could be fur-
ther characterized as probiotic starter cultures carrier for controlled production of high-
quality soumbala.

Antibacterial activity ,Bacteriocin-producing Bacillus spp ,Parkia biglobos