LAUSR

Tempeh is a type of traditional fermented food in Indonesia. The fermentation can be performed by  Rhizopus  microsporus  as a main microorganism. However,  Bacillus  spp. is found in abundance in tempeh production. Nevertheless, information regarding the diversity of  Bacillus  spp. in tempeh production has not been reported yet. Therefore, the aim of this investigation was to study the genetic diversity of  Bacillus  spp. in tempeh production based on the 16S ribosomal RNA sequence. In this study, about 22 of 24 fresh tempeh from Jakarta, Bogor, and Tangerang were used. A total of 52 protease-producing  Bacillus  spp. isolates were obtained. Based on 16S ribosomal RNA results, all 52 isolates were identified to be similar to  B.  pumilus, B. subtilis, B. megaterium, B. licheniformis, B.  cereus , B. thuringiensis, B. amyloliquefaciens, Brevibacillus brevis , and  Bacillus  sp. All the identified isolates were divided into two large clusters: 1) a cluster of  B. cereus, B. thuringiensis, Bacillus  sp., and  B. brevis  and 2) a cluster of  B. pumilus ,  B. subtilis, B. megaterium, B. licheniformis , and  B. amyloliquefaciens . Information about the  Bacillus  spp. role in determining the quality of tempeh has not been reported and this is a preliminary study of  Bacillus  spp. from tempeh.