Bacteriocin‑Producing Enterococci Modulate Cheese Microbial Diversity

Cheese production involves various lactic acid bacteria (LAB) that break down lactose, milk proteins, and fats, producing,key nutrients and infuencing the cheese’s favor. They form communities that play a crucial role in determining the cheese’s,organoleptic properties. The composition of cheeses’ m...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Teso Pérez, Claudia, López Gazcón, Areli, Peralta Sánchez, Juan Manuel, Martínez Bueno, Manuel, Valdivia, Eva, Fárez Vidal, María Esther, Martín Platero, Antonio M.
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2024
País:España
Institución:Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Agrarias (IVIA)
Repositorio:idUS. Depósito de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevilla
OAI Identifier:oai:idus.us.es:11441/174189
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/11441/174189
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-025-02491-7
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Enterococcus
Cheese microbiota
Microbial interactions
Microbial diversity
Bacteriocins
Enterocins
Descripción
Sumario:Cheese production involves various lactic acid bacteria (LAB) that break down lactose, milk proteins, and fats, producing,key nutrients and infuencing the cheese’s favor. They form communities that play a crucial role in determining the cheese’s,organoleptic properties. The composition of cheeses’ microbial communities is shaped by physicochemical factors (e.g., temperature, pH, and salinity) and biological factors (i.e. microbial interactions). While starter cultures are introduced to control,these communities, non-starter LAB represent a signifcant portion of the fnal microbial assemblage, but their interactions,remain unclear. LAB often produce bacteriocins, antimicrobial peptides that antagonize other bacteria, but their role within,LAB communities is not fully understood. This study aimed to assess the impact of bacteriocin production on LAB diversity,in cheese, using Enterococcus as a model organism, a common bacteriocin producer. We analyzed enterocin production of,enterococcal isolates by antimicrobial assays and microbial diversity diferences in raw milk cheeses by two approaches: 16S,RNA gene amplicon metagenomic sequencing for the whole microbial community and multi-locus sequence analysis (MLSA),for the enterococcal diversity. Our results revealed that LAB communities were dominated by lactococci, lactobacilli, and,streptococci, with enterococci present in lower numbers. However, cheeses containing bacteriocin-producing enterococci,exhibited higher microbial diversity. Interestingly, the highest diversity occurred at low levels of bacteriocin producers, but,this efect was not observed within enterococcal populations. These fndings suggest that bacteriocin production plays a,key role in shaping LAB communities during cheese ripening, although further research is needed to understand its broader,implications in other microbial ecosystems.