Metagenomic profiles of different types of Italian high-moisture Mozzarella cheese.

The microbiota of different types of Italian high-moisture Mozzarella cheese produced using cow or buffalo milk, acidified with natural or selected cultures, and sampled at the dairy or at the mass market, was evaluated using a Next Generation Sequencing approach, in order to identify possible drivers of the bacterial diversity. Cow Mozzarella and buffalo Mozzarella acidified with commercial cultures were dominated by Streptococcus thermophilus, while buffalo samples acidified with natural whey cultures showed similar prevalence of L. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus, L. helveticus and S. thermophilus. Moreover, several species of non-starter lactic acid bacteria were frequently detected. The diversity in cow Mozzarella microbiota was much higher than that of water buffalo samples. Cluster analysis clearly separated cow's cheeses from buffalo's ones, the former having a higher prevalence of psychrophilic taxa, and the latter of Lactobacillus and Streptococcus. A higher prevalence of psychrophilic species and potential spoilers was observed in samples collected at the mass retail, suggesting that longer exposures to cooling temperatures and longer production-to-consumption times could significantly affect microbiota diversity. Our results could help in detecting some kind of thermal abuse during the production or storage of mozzarella cheese.

Marino M ，Dubsky de Wittenau G ，Saccà E ，Cattonaro F ，Spadotto A ，Innocente N ，Radovic S ，Piasentier E ，Marroni F ... -  《-》

The microbiota of high-moisture mozzarella cheese produced with different acidification methods.

The microbiota of high-moisture Mozzarella cheese made from cow's milk and produced with different acidification methods was evaluated at the end of refrigerated storage by pyrosequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. The cheeses were clearly separated on the basis of the acidification methods. Cheeses produced with the addition of starters were dominated by Streptococcus thermophilus, but a variety of lactic acid bacteria and spoilage microorganisms appeared at low levels (0.01-1%). Cheeses produced by direct addition of citric acid were dominated by a diverse microbiota, including both lactic acid bacteria and psychrotrophic γ-proteobacteria. For five brands the acidification system was not declared on the label: the microbiota was dominated by thermophilic lactic acid bacteria (S. thermophilus, Lactobacillus delbrueckii, Lactobacillus helveticus) but a variety of other subdominant lactic acid bacteria, psychrotrophs and Enterobacteriaceae were present, with a diversity comparable or higher to cheeses produced by direct acid addition. This led to the conclusion that undefined starters were used for acidification. Both ordination methods and network analysis were used for the representation of beta-diversity: matrix cluster analysis, principal coordinate analysis and OTU networks uncovered different aspects of the microbial community structure. For three cheese brands both biological replicates (cheeses from different lots) and technical replicates (replicate cheeses from the same lot) were analyzed. Repeatability was acceptable for OTUs appearing at frequencies >1%, but was low otherwise. A linear mixed model showed that the starter system was responsible for most differences related to dairies, while difference due to psychrotrophic contaminants was more related to lot-to-lot variability.

Guidone A ，Zotta T ，Matera A ，Ricciardi A ，De Filippis F ，Ercolini D ，Parente E ... -  《-》

Diversity of lactic acid bacteria isolated from Brazilian water buffalo mozzarella cheese.

The water buffalo mozzarella cheese is a typical Italian cheese which has been introduced in the thriving Brazilian market in the last 10 y, with good acceptance by its consumers. Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) play an important role in the technological and sensory quality of mozzarella cheese. In this study, the aim was to evaluate the diversity of the autochthones viable LAB isolated from water buffalo mozzarella cheese under storage. Samples were collected in 3 independent trials in a dairy industry located in the southeast region of Brazil, on the 28th day of storage, at 4 ºC. The LAB were characterized by Gram staining, catalase test, capacity to assimilate citrate, and production of CO2 from glucose. The diversity of LAB was evaluated by RAPD-PCR (randomly amplified polymorphic DNA-polymerase chain reaction), 16S rRNA gene sequencing, and by Vitek 2 system. Twenty LAB strains were isolated and clustered into 12 different clusters, and identified as Streptococcus thermophilus, Enterococcus faecium, Enterococcus durans, Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. mesenteroides, Lactobacillus fermentum, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus, and Lactobacillus helveticus. Enterococcus species were dominant and citrate-positive. Only the strains of L. mesenteroides subsp. mesenteroides and L. fermentum produced CO2 from glucose and were citrate-positive, while L. casei was only citrate positive. This is the first report which elucidates the LAB diversity involved in Brazilian water buffalo mozzarella cheese. Furthermore, the results show that despite the absence of natural whey cultures as starters in production, the LAB species identified are the ones typically found in mozzarella cheese.

Silva LF ，Casella T ，Gomes ES ，Nogueira MC ，De Dea Lindner J ，Penna AL ... -  《-》

Bacterial microbiota of Kazakhstan cheese revealed by single molecule real time (SMRT) sequencing and its comparison with Belgian, Kalmykian and Italian artisanal cheeses.

Li J ，Zheng Y ，Xu H ，Xi X ，Hou Q ，Feng S ，Wuri L ，Bian Y ，Yu Z ，Kwok LY ，Sun Z ，Sun T ... -  《BMC MICROBIOLOGY》

Safety and technological application of autochthonous Streptococcus thermophilus cultures in the buffalo Mozzarella cheese.

Thermophilic and mesophilic lactic acid bacteria (LAB), such as Streptococcus thermophilus, Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus, Lactobacillus helveticus, and Lactococcus lactis, play a crucial role in the technological and sensory quality of Mozzarella cheese. In this study, the safety (genes encoding virulence factors and antibiotic resistance) and acidifying activity of autochthonous S. thermophilus cultures were evaluated in order to choose the most suitable strain for industrial application. The safe and good acidifying culture was tested in two buffalo Mozzarella cheese batches: Mozzarella cheeses produced with autochthonous culture (SJRP107) and commercial culture (STM5). The cultivable LAB was evaluated by culture-dependent method (plate counting) and the quantification of S. thermophilus cultures (commercial and autochthonous) were evaluated by culture-independent method RealT-qPCR (real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction). The texture, physicochemical and proteolytic properties of the Mozzarella cheeses were similar for both batches. The nonstarter LAB count was higher during manufacture than in the storage, and the RealT-qPCR indicated the presence of S. thermophilus culture until the end of storage. S. thermophilus SJRP107 presented high potential for safety application in the production of Mozzarella cheese. Furthermore, considering the culture characteristics and their relationship with product quality, further studies could be helpful to determine their effect on the sensory characteristics of the cheese.

Silva LF ，Sunakozawa TN ，Amaral DMF ，Casella T ，Nogueira MCL ，De Dea Lindner J ，Bottari B ，Gatti M ，Penna ALB ... -  《-》