Lactobacillus wasatchensis, an obligate heterofermentative nonstarter lactic acid bacteria can cause late gas production and splits and cracks in Cheddar cheese. Our goal was to identify potential sources of 6-carbon sugar compounds that may be present in cheese and cause release of CO₂ when converted to a 5-carbon sugar which is utilized by Lb. wasatchensis for energy production. Previous studies did not explain late gas production in cheese when no galactose was present. Potential relevant metabolic pathways were determined based upon the genome of Lb. wasatchensis WDC04. The genome sequence was exported from the NCBI GenBank database, then metabolic modeling was performed using Knowledgebase Predictive Biology software to map the genes present for various metabolic pathways. Based upon data output from a flux balance analysis, it was confirmed that Lb. wasatchensis contains a complete pentose phosphate pathway (PPP), while pathways for glycolysis, tricarboxylic acid, and galactose metabolism were incomplete. To confirm these predictions and to look for alternative carbon metabolic pathways, 5 strains of Lb. wasatchensis (CGL02, DH3, LD13, SH05, WDC04) were tested in carbohydrate restricted MRS (CR-MRS) broth in micro-well plates supplemented with 7% oxyrase and 0.5% of either ribose, lactose, galactose, or N-acetylglucosamine (NAG). Growth occurred with ribose but was negligible when lactose, galactose, or NAG were the only carbohydrates present. The metabolic modeling also predicted additional carbohydrates that might be utilized by Lb. wasatchensis including gluconate which is the oxidized form of glucose. Gluconate contains 6 carbons and Lb. wasatchensis contains the genes for it to be converted to ribose-5-P using phosphogluconate dehydrogenase by a decarboxylating step, producing CO₂ in a similar way to galactose, when used as an energy source for the PPP. When inoculated into CR-MRS containing 0.5% sodium gluconate, 4 of the Lb. wasatchensis strains grew, confirming utilization of gluconate. Presence of gluconate in cheese thus becomes another risk factor for unwanted gas production and formation of splits and cracks in cheese.